Elita Loresca's father-in-law meets son he didn't know he had
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It was an incredible moment 50 years in the making: A father meeting the son he never knew he had.
Jim Hayes grew up in a loving Midwestern home. His dad was a policeman and his mom was a waitress.
It was no secret that he was adopted.
"I was always aware that I was adopted. I also have an adopted brother. We talked about it openly," said Hayes.
In his 20s he became curious about his biological parents. He reached out to the adoption agency but they could only disclose information about his birth mother.
Hayes found her and reached out but she didn't want to meet him.
"I was a little perturbed like, 'how could this be?' I was probably more surprised than anything," said Hayes.
He did ask her about his birth father but she wasn't willing to share any information.
Twenty years went by. Hayes and his wife had three kids. But he always wondered.
Then, just last year, friends encouraged him to take a DNA test with Ancestry.com. The test came back with unexpected results.
"It says father/child and I dig deeper and it says, 'You are a match. This is your parent.' It gives the initials but there's no name," explained Hayes.
It was a moment he waited for his entire life but he didn't exactly know what to do with initials.
After months of internet research, he figured out that the initials T.N. stand for Tom Nuveman, a man living in California, married for 44 years to his wife Susan with two children of their own.
Last March, Jim gave his birth father a call.
"He started asking questions and we're kind of thinking 'what's happening here?'" said Nuveman.
Hayes told him how Ancestry.com showed that they had a father/son relationship.
There was a long pause.
"He said immediately he didn't know. He wasn't shying away from the story line in the conversation but was very surprised," said Hayes.
"So, I said 'I really need to ponder this or think about this a little bit.' It was kind of like, it took us back. It took me back," said Nuveman.
Nuveman had a brief relationship before he was married. When they broke up, she was pregnant and never told him. She gave the baby up for adoption.
Hayes and Nuveman talked on the phone for months but couldn't wait to meet.
Three months after that first phone call the father and son met face-to-face for the first time at Hayes' home. The meeting included some of their children and friends.
When the two met for the first time on Good Morning America, it was an emotional moment.
The father and son embraced. Immediately, Nuveman apologized to Hayes for it take 50 years, for them to meet.
"It worked out the way maybe it was supposed to work out. We both had good lives and now we have a great chance of catching up and making new memories," said Hayes.
Nuveman is the father-in-law of Eyewitness News meteorologist Elita Loresca.
WATCH: Elita Loresca talks about how a DNA test changed her family
