Woman relocates to Wilmington after finding long-lost siblings through DNA website

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Many people are moving to Southeastern North Carolina, some for work and some for play. One woman has relocated to the area for family, one that she never knew she had.

Terri Russo-Alesi found out she was adopted when she was nine years old.

“I always felt like I was store-bought, in a way. I mean, I had a phenomenal relationship with my adoptive parents and it was a blessing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, but just never feeling like you belong,” Russo-Alesi said.

With older parents and living as an only child, she felt alone for much of her life, until now.

“I have two brothers, a sister, nine nieces, two living aunts, and a handful of cousins,” Russo-Alesi said. “It’s just been magical.”

After using Ancestry.com, Russo-Alesi discovered a family she had no idea she had and they all lived in Wilmington.

“I planned a trip up here in October,” she said. “So October 10th, I flew to Wilmington and my two brothers and sisters were waiting for me and it was just magical.”

She had been living in Georgia for much of her life. After being divorced a few years prior and watching her children grow up and leave the nest, so she made a big decision not long after meeting her siblings.

“From October to December, I made five trips up here, but really it was after the first trip I was like I’m moving up here,” Russo-Alesi said. “Life’s too short. As my older brother said, we wasted the first half of our lives not knowing one another existed, let’s not waste the second half.”

Since March, she’s lived with her brother and his family in Wilmington.

“For the first time in my life, outside of the birth of my four amazing children, I finally feel at peace. I finally feel happy, true happiness for the first time,” Russo-Alesi said.

We’ll have more details on the story soon. WWAY’s Sydney Bouchelle has plans to sit down with all the siblings to learn more about their extraordinary story.