When TikToker Jinjara (@jinjaramitchell) was 14 years old, she met her 27-year-old sister, Jackie, for the first time. Her mom had Jackie when she was 17 years old. She kept Jackie for six months before giving her up for adoption.
Her mom had a career as a motivational speaker, and whenever she spoke about kids, she would always say she had three: Jinjara, her brother Fred, and her other brother Ryan.
Jackie was rarely ever mentioned, except for when her mom talked about being assaulted in high school, which resulted in a pregnancy.
Jinjara and her mom flew from Palm Springs to Vancouver to meet Jackie, who had apparently sent an email to her mom, asking if they could reconnect.
Of course, her mom took this opportunity to leak a major news story to the press. When they arrived in Vancouver, the press was there to capture the reunion.
An article implied that Jackie and her mom were meeting for the first time after 27 years, which was untrue. Jinjara recalls Jackie begging her mom not to make her lie.
“I was 14, as I mentioned, and my mom made me lie all the time, and I remember thinking, ‘Why can’t Jackie just get with the program and lie?'” said Jinjara.
“Because my mom’s going to get really, really mad, and I’m the one who has to deal with my mom when she’s really, really mad.”
Jackie and her mom actually met when Jackie was 11 years old. Her mom showed up at Jackie’s elementary school in the small town of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, claiming to be an author who was trying to see life through the eyes of a child.
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“The school allowed it because who wouldn’t trust that face, right?” said Jinjara. “She’s blonde and pretty. She couldn’t be evil.”
Her mom picked a little girl named Jamie to see life through. She spent three weeks with Jamie before revealing that her real name was Jackie and that she was her mother.
Jackie’s family had no idea that her birth mom was at the school. It had also been a closed adoption.
Her mom told Jackie that she wanted her to move back to California with her. She told Jackie not to tell her parents. At this point, her mom was married and had one other child. Jinjara was not born yet.
Her father was going through a major transplant surgery at Stanford. Instead of staying by his side, her mother decided to search for her adopted child.
It also turned out that Jackie was not born from an assault. Her mom was dating a guy named Phil. They lived together and were in love. Sadly, they had to give up Jackie for adoption.
Jackie went home and told her parents everything. Then, she had to spend her 12th birthday in hiding.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
