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Trevor's story

Where are you from? My answer will surprise you...

Trevor Churchley · 26 Oct 2026

Where are you from? What do you do? The ultimate Aussie intro icebreaker question. How do you answer it? Mine isn't what you would expect, it's one hell of a story!

I was adopted as a baby. Yep, right from the get go. It was something I was ashamed of, afraid to tell anyone else. As a kid, anything that made you different from others wasn't a good thing. So I hid it, buried it down very deep. My dark, closely guarded secret.

So when people asked me where I was from, my standard was 'My dad is a Pom, and my mum is Anglo-Indian. I'm Aussie from south-western Sydney.' Easy. Done. Secret guarded. Move on.

But I really wanted to know my origin, my medical history. Not just for me, for my kids too. I had my birth records and searched myself, but I just couldn't find her.

Then at the ripe old age of 45, I found out. Mrs Talentology saw an ad for a show on Channel 10. They called it Reunion but it was really Long Lost Family. I sent them an email and thought nothing would happen. They replied.

An exchange of emails, meetings and information led me to a world-changing experience. In February 2016, I met my birth mother for the first time! And my half-sister! All in front of Australia on TV with host Anh Do and Chrissy Swan.

And a year later, I found my birth father too, in Hawaii, and a half-brother!

So, here's the big reveal. The answer to where I'm from? My birth mother's origins are Ukranian and convict Australian (English) and my father's are French Canadian and Mexican.

And my birthname was Parrish Russell! I even have a birth certificate for Parrish, he was a real person for about two weeks!

You may be wondering why I couldn't find her when I tried searching myself? My birth mother changed her name on my adoption paperwork to protect herself.

So, where are you from? What's your story?

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