"I tracked down my biological mum on Facebook and met her for the first time at my wedding"
- 9 months ago
A woman who tracked down her biological mum on Facebook met her for the first time at her wedding after 23 years.
Jenny Bergmann, 30, was adopted at birth in 1992 after her biological mum, Joanne Wojdula, 52, was worried she couldn't give her the "quality of life someone else could".
She was brought up by her adoptive parents, Kelly, 63, and Mike, 65, in Missouri but had always wanted to meet her birth mother.
Despite it being a closed adoption, her adoptive family shared a letter Joanne had written when Jenny was aged 10 – which revealed her full name.
Jenny tracked down and found her mum on Facebook aged 15 but was too scared to message her until she was 20.
After not getting a response she found her daughter, Nicole, 27, and messaged her and began connecting with her birth mum.
They spoke for two years before meeting briefly for the first time at Jenny’s wedding.
They developed their relationship further when Jenny was invited to Nicole’s wedding seven years later.
In July 2023 they met in Copenhagen, Denmark and Jenny said they immediately bonded and had an “incredible” time.
It was the first time they had spent a long time together, or been alone.
The mum and daughter plan to meet up in October again with Jenny’s adoptive parents and her sons – Oliver, five, and Finneas, two.
Jenny, a tour guide, who lives in Hamburg, Germany, said: “I’d just done all my make-up and it was 10 minutes until I walked down the aisle and my mum said Joanne is here.
“She walked through the door and I thought ‘omg she is a clone of me’.
“It was a beautiful moment.
“On our recent trip people would just recognise us as mum and daughter because we look so alike and act so alike.
“We make the same type of jokes. We move the same and we have the same smile.
“I was startled at how quickly we were able to bond.”
Joanne found out she was pregnant when she was aged 20 but hid her pregnancy after being unsure who the father was.
She flew to Florida from New York at six months pregnant to give birth.
Joanne, a certified wine maker, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, said: "In my head I didn’t feel I was going to give her the quality of life someone else could."
Joanne went on to have two daughters - Nicole, 27, Samantha, 28 - and a son - Woodrow, 25, and knew nothing about Jenny - not even her name.
Jenny was raised by Kelly, a part time home health nurse, and Mike, a retired accountant, and always knew she was adopted.
She said: “I didn’t look anything like them at all.
“We didn’t talk about adoption much.
“I always wanted to find my birth mum.
“I knew her name from the letter she wrote me.
“I remember sending letters to Oprah and Ellen to see if they would help me find her.”
Jenny tracked down her mum on Facebook aged 15 but was “too afraid” to reach out.
She said: “She had this whole life.
“I didn’t want to blow up her life.”
While she was in college, aged 20, she was encouraged by a roommate to reach out in 2013.
Jenny Bergmann, 30, was adopted at birth in 1992 after her biological mum, Joanne Wojdula, 52, was worried she couldn't give her the "quality of life someone else could".
She was brought up by her adoptive parents, Kelly, 63, and Mike, 65, in Missouri but had always wanted to meet her birth mother.
Despite it being a closed adoption, her adoptive family shared a letter Joanne had written when Jenny was aged 10 – which revealed her full name.
Jenny tracked down and found her mum on Facebook aged 15 but was too scared to message her until she was 20.
After not getting a response she found her daughter, Nicole, 27, and messaged her and began connecting with her birth mum.
They spoke for two years before meeting briefly for the first time at Jenny’s wedding.
They developed their relationship further when Jenny was invited to Nicole’s wedding seven years later.
In July 2023 they met in Copenhagen, Denmark and Jenny said they immediately bonded and had an “incredible” time.
It was the first time they had spent a long time together, or been alone.
The mum and daughter plan to meet up in October again with Jenny’s adoptive parents and her sons – Oliver, five, and Finneas, two.
Jenny, a tour guide, who lives in Hamburg, Germany, said: “I’d just done all my make-up and it was 10 minutes until I walked down the aisle and my mum said Joanne is here.
“She walked through the door and I thought ‘omg she is a clone of me’.
“It was a beautiful moment.
“On our recent trip people would just recognise us as mum and daughter because we look so alike and act so alike.
“We make the same type of jokes. We move the same and we have the same smile.
“I was startled at how quickly we were able to bond.”
Joanne found out she was pregnant when she was aged 20 but hid her pregnancy after being unsure who the father was.
She flew to Florida from New York at six months pregnant to give birth.
Joanne, a certified wine maker, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, said: "In my head I didn’t feel I was going to give her the quality of life someone else could."
Joanne went on to have two daughters - Nicole, 27, Samantha, 28 - and a son - Woodrow, 25, and knew nothing about Jenny - not even her name.
Jenny was raised by Kelly, a part time home health nurse, and Mike, a retired accountant, and always knew she was adopted.
She said: “I didn’t look anything like them at all.
“We didn’t talk about adoption much.
“I always wanted to find my birth mum.
“I knew her name from the letter she wrote me.
“I remember sending letters to Oprah and Ellen to see if they would help me find her.”
Jenny tracked down her mum on Facebook aged 15 but was “too afraid” to reach out.
She said: “She had this whole life.
“I didn’t want to blow up her life.”
While she was in college, aged 20, she was encouraged by a roommate to reach out in 2013.