Man left in a trashcan as a baby discovers former classmate is his half brother
In an astonishing twist of fate, two former classmates have reunited as brothers.
Viewers of ITV's Long Lost Family were left stunned when it was revealed in the show that a British man named Paul Connolly and one of his schoolmates turn out to be his long-lost paternal half-brother.
The 60-year-old author and personal trainer, who was born in east London in 1962, shared that he had a difficult childhood. His mother suffered a breakdown and “put him out with the rubbish” when he was just a few weeks old, but a neighbor heard his cries and called social services.
When he was 8, he was taken to St. Leonard’s Children’s Home in Hornchurch, Essex, where he claimed he endured a lot of “mental torture” and physical beatings.”
According to Paul, he only saw his mom a couple of times growing up and had "limited contact" with his seven siblings. Like him, they too all went into care at some point. He recalled "being aware that he looked different from his brother, who was 'fair and ginger.'"
“My older brother used to say to me, ‘You’re Pino’s son.’ It was said a few times,” he recalled.
Having already met his mother's side of the family, the episode focused on Paul searching for his paternal family.
In 2021, his sons gifted him a DNA test sampling kit and found out that he was half Irish, half Maltese.
Specialist researchers of the show discovered that Paul had a half-brother and was able to track him down.
In the show, semi-professional singer-songwriter Frankie Peroni revealed that his dad "was a Maltese shop owner called Philip Psaila, also known as Pino."
Pino died in 1968, leaving him with his ill mother. Like Paul, Frankie was fostered and lived in Hornchurch, Essex. It was then revealed that they both attended the same school "at the same time."
“He’s a couple of years older than me so we weren’t in the same class, but we would have walked the same corridors,” Frankie told the host.
Despite discovering the tragic news, Paul was still grateful for finding his sibling.
"Of course, it is later in life that we've found each other, but at the same time, I think you've just got to be grateful for every day," Paul said.
“I started out looking for my father and instead I found a brother. So, the future is bright as they say,” he added.
Prior to Long Lost Family, Paul's story was also told in the British film Big Boys Don’t Cry which came out on Netflix. The narrative highlighted his traumatic childhood in an orphanage.