A triplet girl who was separated from her sisters at birth has revealed that they now live together in the same city and have located their biological father.
Rikki Jump, 32, of Fort Lupton, Colorado, grew up knowing that her 67-year-old mother Kathleen had given up her two sisters, Julianne and Kendall Scavo, for adoption.
The mother found out she was expecting triplets when she was 28 weeks pregnant in 1991 and was heartbroken that she and her husband couldn’t afford to support them all.
Kathleen, who had conceived her daughters through an anonymous sperm donor, took this as a sign that Julianna and Kendall should grow up together, as they were both born head down.
The sisters were adopted by Tina, 65, and her late husband Ken and raised 40 minutes away in Fort Collins.
Rikki Jump (pictured) spent the first eight years of her life in Fort Lupton, Colorado, before moving to Neosho, Missouri after her father passed away.
Rikki, who now works as a sales manager and lives in Austin, Texas, said, “When my mom got pregnant, this was in the early ’90s, so they didn’t do as many ultrasounds as they do now.”
“She was 28 weeks and 32 and that’s when they did an ultrasound and found out she was having triplets.
‘My mom and dad had only prepared for a baby. Since my mother was deaf and not financially well off, my parents made the decision to give the other two up for adoption.
‘My father was a truck driver and my mother worked in the post office. My parents always told me I was a triplet, but my sister didn’t know anything about me.
When she was eight years old, Rikki wrote to her sisters for the first time, telling them that they immediately developed a “strong bond”.
Two years later, Rikki’s father passed away and Kathleen decided to move to Neosho, Missouri to be closer to her parents.
Before moving 750 miles away, Rikki begged her mother to let her meet her sisters.
She continued: ‘It was very meaningful to me. We met at a mall and did some shopping, then we went to see a movie, Dare Devil.
Pictured: Rikki with Julianne and Kendall when they got together at the age of 11, before Rikki moved 750 miles away.
Rikki, Julianne and Kendall now live in Austin, Texas and have bonded over the search for their birth father.
Kathleen pictured during her pregnancy in 1991. The mother of three only found out she was expecting triplets when she was seven months pregnant.
“It was a little disappointing for us: we had been writing to each other for so long that when we met it was like seeing an old friend.”
It was more meaningful to our parents, my mother Kathleen had always suffered a lot of guilt and shame for what she had done.
“When he saw them with their parents, he knew he had done the right thing.”
Julianne added: “When I first met Rikki, I felt like I was in tune with a lifelong friend.
“She had built up so much anxiety about the meeting for no reason, she felt right at home.”
Despite growing up in Colorado, the three sisters now live in Austin, Texas, where they meet regularly.
In adulthood, they have joined in their quest to find their biological father.
It was only after Rikki’s father passed away that Kathleen told her that he was not her biological father.
When the couple began discussing whether to start a family in 1990, Kathleen’s husband was already 58 years old and had undergone a vasectomy, which meant they had to use a sperm donor.
Kathleen recently pictured with her daughters Rikki and Kendall (right). Kathleen’s daughters, Kendall and Julianne, grew up 40 minutes from where her mother lived.
Kathleen pictured with her triplets when they were still babies. The mother of three moved 750 miles away with her daughter Rikki after the death of her husband.
Rikki continued: “I was upset when my mom told me and went to my room to process, but it made no difference to me – my dad was my dad.”
“But looking back now, I can see why it was so significant to me. It was shocking to be sure.
When Rikki turned 26, she started searching for her biological father online and says she fell down a “rabbit hole”.
In 2022, a family member of Rikki’s father contacted Rikki to say that they had a high DNA match, but they didn’t know why.
After much back and forth, Rikki found out that the woman was her father’s aunt and connected via email.
She said: ‘I sent my dad an email introducing myself, and he responded by being nice and explaining who he was.
Pictured: Julianne and Kendall Scavo with their adoptive parents Tina and Ken, who has since passed away.
Kathleen, who had conceived her daughters through an anonymous sperm donor, took this as a sign that Julianna and Kendall should grow up together, since they were both born upside down.
‘She was surprised to hear from me, but happy to chat. I made it clear that I wasn’t looking for anything from him.
“After a few emails he knew I wasn’t scamming him, he checked my social media and saw how I live my life.
In April, Rikki and Julianne were reunited with their birth father, but Kendall decided she wasn’t ready to make that connection yet.
Rikki added, “It wasn’t easy, but in finding each other, it’s become more apparent that you choose your family and that your parents are the people who raise you.”
‘Something really beautiful has come out of this situation.
“I also find it very moving how my mother was able to bless two people who had been trying to have a child for seven years.”
