A Manitoba father has been reconnected with his long-lost twins thanks to social media.
Robert and Ramando Gaudette were born at the Grey Nuns Hospital 21 years ago. The last time their father, Roberto Gaspar, saw them, they were just six months old.
Not long after, Gaspar says his ex-girlfriend (their biological mother) put them up for adoption without his knowledge and he was kept in the dark about their whereabouts.
“I think I found out about a year after they were already adopted. That’s when she actually told me officially that the kids were adopted and by then I couldn’t do nothing.”
On Friday, Oct. 13, Gaspar, who now lives in Hodgson, Man., welcomed a new baby with his current girlfriend Dana Sinclair. Gaspar says the newborn had him thinking about his twin boys, so Sinclair suggested he try looking for them on Facebook.
Gaspar wrote up a post, using what little information he had about them: their names and the Edmonton hospital they were born in. The post was shared 27,000 times.
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About five days later, one of the twins, Robert Gaudette, was working out of town when he received a Facebook message. It said a man by the name of Roberto Gaspar might be his biological father.
“I was in shock. I didn’t really believe it at first. So I called my mom and I was like, ‘Is this true?’ And she said, ‘Yes, you guys should totally talk to him.’
“So we called him up and it was amazing. Just hearing his voice after all those years. It was super emotional,” Gaudette said.
“I’m just so glad that we’re able to connect and get back in touch with them.”
Growing up, Gaudette knew he was adopted but didn’t really have the interest to dig deeper. But now, the timing seemed right.
“I’m 21 years old… I might never have the chance to connect with him, ever.”
On Monday morning, Gaudette appeared on The Ryan Jespersen Show on 630 CHED, along with his dad’s sister. He met his aunt just two days prior, along with other biological relatives.
Gaudette described his first phone conversation with his father, smiling from ear to ear.
“There was a lot of tears, a lot of sobbing and crying. I just really wanted to come out and meet him, just as soon as possible.
“We talked about family and if there’s any close family in Edmonton that I could visit and connect with first. And we found out we had two aunts and a bunch of cousins out here, so we all just reconnected a couple of days ago and it’s been amazing.”
The Edmonton twins hope to travel to Manitoba over Christmas for a big family reunion.
The twins’ adoptive parents are said to be 100 per cent supportive of their plans.
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