This is the emotional moment a man fulfilled his mother’s dying wish by finally meeting his older sister, who was adopted as a baby, for the first time on Long Lost Family.
Simon Miller, 49, from Putney, southwest London, grew up with his older brother, David, who did not want to be filmed for ITV’s Tonight show. The couple was cared for by his mother, Beverly.
However, Beverly, who died of cancer in 2008, also had a daughter, named Bronwen, whom she gave up for adoption after her relationship ended and she broke up.
Beverley’s dying wish was for her children to track down Bronwen and let her know how loved she was, as Simon first found out about his sister at age 14.
In tonight’s episode, Simon and his brother meet for the first time in heartwarming scenes, with the couple tearfully saying ‘I love you’ to each other and sharing an adorable hug.
This is the emotional moment a man fulfilled his mother’s dying wish by finally meeting his older sister (pictured left), who was adopted as a baby, for the first time on Long Lost Family.
When the duo first met, Simon gave his older sister a heartfelt hug and kissed Bronwen before saying ‘I love you’, to which she replied ‘I love you too’.
Bronwen said she did not know about Simon and only found out about his other brother, David, when he was 12 years old.
“Mom sat me down and told me she had a brother, it was very, very hard for her to tell me and I found it hard to take.”
Barely able to speak, Simon said he had known since he was 14, adding: “(Mum) said she made the right choice because she wanted you to have a good education and she couldn’t give you a good education.”
The long-lost siblings began comparing their faces and agreed that they have similar features, such as noses and dimples.
Hand covering his mouth in shock, Simon said, “I just can’t believe I have my sister.” You’re not going to get rid of me. Bronwen, meanwhile, said: ‘She said she loved me and I love him. He’s my brother.’
Beverly clung on to Bronwen for just 14 days before they broke up with Simon saying his mother had “punished herself ever since”.
Her last wish was to find her middle child, whom she gave up for adoption only a few years before the youngest, Simon, was born.
Simon shared a heartfelt hug with Bronwen when they first met on the ITV show.
Simon Miller, 49, a supermarket assistant from Putney, was on ITV’s Long Lost Family to fulfill his late mother’s dying wish to find her daughter Bronwen. both in the photo
Simon was a teenager when he first learned that his mother had had a girl. Pictured: Beverley, who passed away in 2008
Simon also grew up with an older brother, David, who was very supportive of Simon’s search but didn’t want to be on camera. Both photographed as children.
Simon carried out her search because he wanted to help her understand why she was the only one of three siblings to be abandoned.
Bronwen’s adoptive parents separated when she was five years old, and she was raised by her mother and grandfather.
‘Knowing that I had a brother was difficult, because I couldn’t meet him, I couldn’t play with him. So she couldn’t be a sister,’ she said, reflecting on how she felt when she was told about David.
Bronwen, who lives in Shropshire with her husband and two daughters, told co-presenter Nicky Campbell she felt rejected and would question why her mother stayed with David but abandoned her more than 50 years ago.
But upon hearing the reasons why Beverly gave up her daughter, Bronwen admitted that it changed her mind, adding that “it couldn’t have been easy for her to give me up.”
Bronwen did not know about her younger brother, Simon, before being contacted by the Long Lost Family team.
Simon carried out his search for Bronwen because he wanted to help her understand why she was the only one of three siblings to be abandoned.
The show eventually went after Bronwen (pictured), who now lives in Shropshire with her husband and two daughters.
Nicky showed him some family photos along with a letter from his brothers.
It read: ‘Our mother loved you very much. She was heartbroken to have to give you up for adoption because she wanted you to have a better life.
He talked about you often. We made him a promise that we would find you. Sorry, she’s taken so long. Love from your brothers Simon and David.
Since they filmed the show, Simon and Bronwen have been texting every day and plan to meet up in the fall so he can meet his nieces.
‘It was overwhelming, but it was incredible. He is a lovely character and I can’t wait for the next chapter of my life with my sister,” Simon said.
Simon told FEMAIL about the strange ways Bronwen reminds him of his mother Beverly.
“I can see a lot of my mother in her,” she said. ‘She has her nose, just like me.’ And it’s not just her physical appearance.
Bronwen and Beverley have the same special taste for Bounty bars and gingerbread cookies. The duo also rated the roast dinner and spaghetti bolognese as their ‘favourites’.
Now that the brothers are reunited, Simon has told FEMAIL about the strange ways his sister Bronwen reminds him of their father, Beverley, who passed away in 2008. Simon was photographed with his mother as a child.
“I didn’t feel any discomfort,” he revealed. “It feels weird because we both have a lot in common, movie and TV wise.”
Strangely, their birthdays are also only a day away, which Simon says has confused Beverley in the past.
“I would have understood if she didn’t want to know,” he admitted, explaining that Brownen’s wishes were his priority throughout the entire process of finding her.
“When people have asked my mother, ‘Well, why didn’t you look her up?’, because she was afraid of rejection,” she said.
Beverley would be ‘at peace’ and would be ‘overwhelmed and happy’ to see him and Bronwen reaching out to each other, Simon said. “I feel like she’s looking down on us,” she added.
