https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14946967/scottish-woman-heartbreak-birth-mother-long-lost-family.htmlScottish woman's heartbreak as she tracks down her birth mother after 50 years only to find out she doesn't want to meet
Paula Stillie, from Scotland, appeared on Long Lost Family: What Happened Next
READ MORE: Long Lost Family: Emotional moment woman, 66, who was diagnosed with cancer, reunites with daughter she gave up for adoption after becoming pregnant aged 16
By MAANYA SACHDEVA and JESSICA GREEN
Published: 14:21, 28 July 2025 | Updated: 15:14, 28 July 2025
A Scottish B&B owner who waited 50 years to meet her biological parents was left devastated after her birth mother refused to meet her during this week's episode of Long Lost Family: What Happened Next. Paula Stillie, now 53, sought the help of the ITV program to answer questions about her background growing up in Buckie, Scotland, with the mother-of-one first reaching out to producers in 2021. Paula recalled early experiences of racism while living with her white adoptive parents and how she covered herself in talcum powder from 'head-to-toe' so that she would look more like them. 'I don't know where I come from. What are my roots? Who do I look like?' Paula, who lives with her husband Euan and their son Kyle, said. 'I don't feel as if I've got an anchor in life, I could come from anywhere in the world. I just don't know. Being adopted you're different, but also of mixed race as well makes you even more different,' she explained. 'Why did I have a different skin colour to my mum and dad?'
She continued: 'I can remember covering myself in talcum powder from head-to-toe and Mum came in and I said, "I'm the same colour as you mum, I'm white". I think that broke her heart.'
In the latest episode of the ITV program, viewers catch up with Paula's emotional journey including the moment when she learned her birth mother did not want any contact with her. Viewers admitted they were in tears by the end of the episode as Paula's heartbreak turns into healing when she is finally accepted by her late father's Native American relatives living in Montana, US. In their search for Paula's biological family, producers were able to identify and track down her birth mother, who was living in England but she declined to meet the daughter she had given up for adoption. 'It was a shock that she didn't want to see me,' Paula confessed. 'I was disappointed.'
She admitted there will always be a 'feeling of rejection' when it comes to her relationship with her mother, adding: 'It's so, so sad that she'll never meet me.'
While she rejected Long Lost Family's offer to reunite with Paula, her birth mother offered a clue about her biological father an American man she called Larry Smith. 'It's a real longing within me to find my birth father. There's a whole other world out there that I don't know about that involves me,' Paula said.
Her father had travelled to England with the navy for a short period of time, but he was difficult to track down so the Long Lost Family team turned to DNA testing. They discovered a distant match with a man named Joe, whose family tree, which was registered online, revealed Paula's paternal relatives were Native American. The tree also included a man called Lawrence known to his family as John who was Paula's father. However, he tragically passed away in 1982. Thankfully, researchers were able to discover Lawrence's younger brother Joe, who lived in Montana with the rest of the family. Joe revealed to co-presenter Nicky Campbell that his sibling, who had no other children, never knew he had a daughter, but would have tried to find her had he known. Paula's uncle Joe also explained that his grandfather George was part of the Comanche tribe in Oklahoma. Paula's aunts and uncles Joe, Mary Louise, Nancy and Richard were keen to meet their new niece and welcome her, with Joe saying she was 'bringing John back to the family'.
The relatives met for the first time via video call but in the most recent episode were finally reunited after Paula travels to Montana. 'Being here, doesn't feel quite real. That I'm minutes away from meeting my family,' said Paula. 'It's just like this massive bubble of emotion ready to burst out.'
Following the emotional reunion with her uncle and aunts, she said: 'That was incredible. Opening the door and seeing them standing there, I can't describe the feeling. I've waited for this moment for so long.'
Viewers were left in tears at the scenes, with one writing: 'I wish just once I could get through Long Lost Family without crying.'
Another said: 'What a beautiful family and welcome for Paula and her family #LongLostFamily.'
