An American woman who was adopted from South Korea as an infant has shared a video of the emotional moment she met her biological mother and sister for the first time in 33 years.
Shelee Henderson, 33, from Chickasha, Oklahoma, was raised by her adoptive parents, Nancy and Jimmy, in the U.S. and told her birth mother had willingly given her up for adoption so she would have a better life.
In a series of TikTok videos, including footage of their reunion, the founder of the bath and body line Urban Soak explained that her biological father had given her up for adoption when she was 10 months old against her mother’s will and it took more than three decades to locate her.
Amazing: Shelee Henderson, 33, from Chickasha, Oklahoma, shared a video of the emotional moment her biological mother and sister saw her for the first time in 33 years
Then and now: In a series of TikTok videos, she explained that her biological father had given her up for adoption when she was 10 months old against her mother’s will
Heartwarming: The family reunited in 2019, and one of the clips shows the moment her mother and sister saw her for the first time in three decades
‘I was actually not given up willingly by my birth mother for a better life like I had always been told. Turns out, she and my birth father were in fact married. They had my sister. She was three when I was born,’ she shared.
‘When I was one-month-old, marital problems arose. Our father kicked our mother out of the home. Out of anger and resentment for her, he took me to the adoption agency and put me up for adoption,’ she continued, noting that he kept her sister.
‘One month later, my mother returns to the home in an attempt to reconcile the marriage. Of course, she finds out what he had done. She couldn’t believe it.’
Shelee said that when her mother went to the adoption agency to try and get her back, they told her it would cost her.
At that point, she went to the adoption agency and asked them if I was still there. They told her, yes, but if she wanted me to be back, ‘it would cost her.’
Emotional: Shelee later posted an extended video that shows her birth mom hugging her and patting on her on the back during the heartwarming reunion
Say what? Shelee shared that her biological father (right) put her up for adoption against her mother’s will not once but twice
‘My mother had no money, so she left. However, she returned three months later with money in hand. She paid the money and got me back,’ she explained. ‘We went back to living at home with my father and sister as a family for one more month before history repeated itself.’
Shelee said her father kicked her mother out and took her to the adoption agency for a second time, and her mother once again tried to get her back after returning home a month later.
‘She went back to the agency to repeat the process, but when she returned with the money a couple of months later, it was too late,’ she said. ‘I had already been adopted out in a closed adoption.’
In another video, Shelee recounted the amazing story of how her mom and sister went about finding her more than 30 years later.
‘My birth mother ended up staying with my father for the next 27 years, grieving, crying, longing for her baby taken from her not once but twice,’ she said. ‘She and my sister were both physically and mentally abused by my birth father.
Separated: Shelee was raised apart from her sister in the U.S. Her adoptive parents believed her birth mother had given her up so she would have a better life
Starting the search: When Shelee’s birth mother finally left her husband seven years ago, her sister (left) begged their dad to help find her (right)
‘My sister claims she hates and resents our father for breaking up our family while causing her and our mother such pain,’ she continued.
‘When our mother finally built up the courage to leave our father just seven years ago, my sister begged him one last time to help her find me. He finally told her where to begin the search.’
Amazing: Shelee said the adoption agency her adoptive parents used found her on Facebook
Shelee’s sister contacted the Holt International in South Korea, and the adoption agency reached out to Dillon International, the agency her adoptive parents used.
‘They’re the ones who actually researched, located, and contacted me. They found me on Facebook,’ she explained.
‘I got a call one Sunday morning saying they had some information for me regarding my birth family, and so our journey to reunification began.’
Shelee’s birth mother and sister came to visit her in 2019, and the video that shows them seeing her for the first time as an adult has been viewed more than 3.4 million times.
In the clip, her sister throws her hand over her mouth and rushes to give her a hug while their mother embraces both of them.
So much to say: Shelee shared a video of her two mothers meeting for the first time
Heartwarming: Shelee’s adoptive mother hugged and kissed her birth mother on the cheek
Hard to handle: Shelee also shared a clip of her birth mother and sister saying goodbye in the airport after their visit
‘Meeting my biological mother and sister for the first time in 33 years. #reunited #adopted #meetmyfam #southkorea #birthfamily,’ she captioned the video.
Shelee later posted an extended video that shows her birth mom hugging her and patting on her on the back during the heartwarming reunion.
She posted numerous videos throughout their visit, including an emotional clip of her birth mother and adoptive mother meeting for the first time.
The video shows her birth mother sobbing while her adoptive mother, Nancy, hugs her and kisses her on the cheek.
After their visit, she shared a heart-wrenching video of her mother and sister saying goodbye at the airport before flying back to South Korea.
In the caption, she wrote: ‘#adoption reunifications can be something beautiful.. but those #goodbyes are always tough #adoptee #southkorea #reunited.’