Woman taken at birth and brought up by kidnapper walks down the aisle with both 'dads'
Miche Zephany had both her biological dad and the man who brought her up walk her down the aisle in March
A woman who was taken at birth and brought up by a kidnapper has walked down the aisle with both of her 'dads' in extraordinary circumstances.
When Miche Zephany Sheldon, 26, was just three days old, she was snatched by Lavona Solomon from her cot in Groote Schur Hospital, Cape Town on 30 April, 1997.
She was raised by Lavona and her husband Michael, with no idea she was the biological daughter of another family.
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But everything changed in 2015 when Cassidy, a new girl, joined Miche's school and there were some obvious resemblances.
The uncanny similarities saw social workers at the school ask Miche to undergo a DNA test, when it was found out that Cassidy was her biological sister.
It also confirmed Lavona and Michael were not Miche's biological parents - leading to the former being arrested shortly after and receiving a ten-year prison sentence for kidnapping Miche.
Miche was introduced to her birth parents on 25 February, 2015, aged 17 - however, she didn't feel an instant connection to them.
“It was extremely difficult, because you’ve grown up thinking this is your family,” she said.
“Meeting my biological parents… there wasn’t that connection."
She continued: “I was looking for it - but it just wasn’t there in the beginning. I’d been raised by Lavona and Michael my whole life.
“Both families were just so harsh with each other, as well. I really had to adjust to having two different dads in my life.
“But I knew I’d want them both walking me down the aisle whenever I got married.”
So when Miche married Justin Sheldon in March this year, she asked both Michael and her biological dad, Morne Nurse, to walk her down the aisle.
"Michael had been my dad my whole life - he fathered me. I’m so glad Morne opened his heart to walk alongside him down the aisle," she said.
“It was such a beautiful day. We saw the unionship of my two families.”
Miche met teacher Justin, 32, at church back in 2012 - and told her now-husband about her past back in 2021.
When the pair tied the knot earlier this year, it wasn't plain sailing for Miche when it came to who was walking her down the aisle.
She said: “My biological dad wasn’t too happy at first. But this day was all about me and my relationship with my husband.
“But eventually, he said yes for me. It was a miracle!
“The relationship between my two families is improving. They do get along now - we’ve all matured, realised we’re human and are finally coming to terms with what happened."
While Lavona is due to be released from prison later this month, Miche has had no contact with the woman who raised her.
Callum Jones