Valerie Spruill, from Doylestown, Ohio, recently discovered that her husband Percy was also her father, according to a report from the Akron Beacon Journal.
Valerie says she was raised in Ohio by her grandparents because her mother was a “night lady,” who was a family friend.
It wasn’t until she turned nine that Valerie found out that the man she thought was her father, was really her grandfather, and the “family friend,” was her real birth mother.
After her mother died in 1984, Valerie later met a man she would later marry. 20 years later, in 2004, with the help of a DNA test, she found out her late husband, Percy Spruill, who had died 6 years ago in 1998, was actually her biological father.
For years, Valerie says she overheard odd whispers she couldn’t figure out, and one day, her uncle finally told her the truth about her “husband,” who was really her father.
Valerie’s father/husband met her mother when he was just 15 years old, and no one is sure how many kids they had, but at one point, he somehow fell in love with his daughter and married her, and also had three children with her.
Valerie says she isn’t sure if her husband knew he was really her father because he never talked about it, but admits there is a possibility that he knew, and was just afraid to tell her the truth.
Asked why she’s decided to let the world in on her family secret, Valerie Spruill explained that she “wants to set an example” and inspire those who are going through a rough time.
She said she also wants to show other people who were born into miserable situations that they can still lead, good, productive and fulfilling lives, as she is a living, breathing example.
“I want this to be more of an inspirational story,” she says. “If I’ve come through this, anyone can come through anything through the help of the Lord.”
Now retired, after working for over 30 years in the accounting department at Goodyear, Valerie has three children and eight grandchildren.
Valerie said her story “needs to be told, because children need to know where they come from,” she said. “And I know it hurts, because I have been devastated by this.”
She says to this day, she is still seeing a therapist to come to terms with the difficult revelation that she was married to her father, and had children with him. (So does that make her own children her brothers and sisters too?)
Valerie also says that she hopes her decision to go public with her story will help her find the rest of her siblings.
“My biggest goal is to find 'my siblings' and let them know that 'their mother' loved them, no matter what,” she said. “And to say, ‘Thank God she gave you away like she did me, so you could have a beautiful life.’”
One of the six brothers she is aware of advised her not to go public, saying, “Val, that might bring up a whole lot of skeletons in the closet.” She says she told him, “Well, I’m not a skeleton, and I’m hurt.”
But Valerie believes the hurt can be outshined by the truth.
“It’s a miracle how God reveals and heals at the same time, and he gives you that blessing to keep on going … If this old lady came through all this, and God’s still got her here and still with a good heart — because you find so many mean, vicious people in the world, and you don’t have to be — you can love no matter what you’ve come through or where you’ve been in this world.”
Heard any shocking news lately? Well, the news 60-year-old Valerie Spruill found out 6 years after her husband died probably tops anything you’ve ever heard in your life.
