Cayley Cox never gave up hope and her determination has been repaid in the best possible way.
Thirty years ago Cayley, now 52, was shocked to discover she had a brother.
It led to a remarkable decision. Since then she refused to leave the home she grew up in, hoping, one day, he would knock on the door.
Little did Cayley know but that brother, Nick Rhoades, 50, came tantalisingly close to doing just that – only to walk away at the last minute.
But now thanks to ITV’s Long Lost Family, presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, the pair have enjoyed an emotional reunion.
Cayley’s mum Jacqueline left when her daughter was seven to start a new life in America.
Cayley was brought up by her nan Victoria, who died in 2001, in Haverhill, Suffolk, and vividly recalls first finding out about Nick.
Now a mum of three, Cayley said: “When I found out, I was upset and quite angry as I had that feeling of being misled. I confronted my nan.
“She wasn’t the sort of person who cried in front of me but to see her cry like I did really broke me.
“I wasn’t in contact with mum at that point and I had to go to great lengths to get hold of her. Eventually I did and she told me it was true. There and then, I wanted to find him.”
But she had no legal right to track down an adopted sibling.
She was advised to write a letter so it could be put it on his adoption record, in case he tried to find her at any major event in her life – such as her engagement, marriage or when she had children.
She tried to write to him but said: “I wanted to share the events with Nick but I utterly failed because I just couldn’t find the right words.
“Myself, my husband, Colin, and our children had stayed in the house I grew up in and because I always had hope that one day my brother would knock on the door, we stayed in the house.
“Colin was very understanding and even though I work as an estate agent and there were two houses I thought about moving to, I still couldn’t do it. I never gave up hope.”
Meanwhile, dad-of-three Nick, who lives in Wallington, Surrey, had always known he was adopted.
He said: “Nothing was ever hidden from me and I had such a brilliant upbringing. I knew from the word dot I was adopted and, like many adopted children, I did ask questions but my parents told me everything they knew.
“My adoptive parents were so loving and my mum fostered hundreds of children. I was very happy.”
Sadly, when Nick was 18 his adopted mum died, aged just 52. Later when his adopted dad died; he decided, out of curiosity, he wanted to find his birth mum, Jacqueline.
Nick had been given his birth certificate by his adoptive parents with the Haverhill address on it. About ten years ago, he and wife Sandra decided to find the house.
Scaffolder Nick said: “I knew instantly it was the house when we pulled up. It felt so weird. I was going to knock but I couldn’t do it.
“I’d had a happy life but my concern was upsetting others who may not know. I didn’t want to go ‘hello I am your son’.”
With hindsight, it is easy to see that Cayley would have been over the moon if Nick had knocked on that day.
But thankfully for both of them, Sandra applied to Long Lost Family on his behalf. It wasn’t long before the team’s experts tracked Cayley down and the emotional scenes are being screened tomorrow night.
Nick said: “I genuinely did not expect Davina to be telling me they had found my mum when she did it. I was blown away by it all. And then to find out I had a sister too was a mad one.”
Cayley was at work when the show phoned her.
She said: “They asked lots of personal questions. When I asked if it was to do with my brother, I broke down. I was a complete and utter wreck. I then started to get nervous as I was afraid I wouldn’t be good enough for him.”
Cayley definitely need not have worried. When the siblings finally met, there was an instant connection. Nick said: “As soon as I saw her, I knew it was my sister.
“We are so alike. There hasn’t been any getting to know you kind of thing as I know her. She is my sister. Even our mannerisms are the same.
“And Cayley’s husband, Colin, is a hero for staying in that house for so long. They could have been sitting there forever if we hadn’t emailed the programme.”
Cayley said: “Nick is so real and he is perfect for me and my family. We’re so alike, we married people with similar personalities and even our children are alike.
"The night we met, Nick and I didn’t shut up, we were going ten to dozen and Colin sat back and said ‘you even sit the same and hold your hands the same way.’
“He is me with slightly less hair on top. It’s so cheesy but we really have got our happy after.”
A month later, Nick was reunited with their mum, who flew over from America.
Nick said: “It was emotional meeting Jacqueline. I message her every day.”
Cayley said it was emotional when Nick came to her house for the first time. She said: “Nick could have pictured where he could have been growing up. We had a big cuddle.”
She joked: “Apparently he owes me 500 dead legs and, as the older sister, I owe him god knows how many knuckle knocks on the head.
“Everything just feels so right now and I can’t thank Long Lost Family enough. I owe them a debt of gratitude I can never repay. It has changed my life beyond recognition.
“Nick gave me a bracelet at Christmas and I’ve never taken it off. Every time someone asks, I say ‘this is the bracelet my brother gave me’.”
Nick said their reunion is the icing on the cake: “We message every day and we are always meeting up.
“I didn’t know I had a hole in my life but when I was told about my sister, it was instantly closed.”
Long Lost Family has more than four million viewers.
- Long Lost Family, ITV, Monday, 9pm
