In September 1984, Jon Scarlett-Phillips’ mother abandoned him inside a plastic bag in the toilet of a swimming pool car park. The helpless baby boy was wrapped in a blanket, with his placenta still attached.
Fortunately, he was discovered by a group of teenage girls who quickly called an ambulance.
“I was found by three girls,” Jon, now aged 40, said on the UK show Long Lost Family. “I’m grateful, very grateful that they heard me and found me. They’re the ones that saved my life.”
Jon appeared on the show in hopes of reuniting with his biological mother, a decision he said had been difficult to make.
Jon Scarlett-Phillips reunited with his birth family 40 years after being abandoned in the toilet of a swimming pool car park
Image credits: longlostfamily
“I didn’t want to search for a very long time. It’s hard, it’s hard to deal with,” the Wiltshire resident said. “The question is still there: ‘Why did she do it?’”
Jon was adopted by a couple, John and Marilyn, and grew up with a big sister, Debbie.
While the chef recalls having a “good childhood,” he always knew he was a “foundling,” which later translated into “anger issues.”
“I had a lot of emptiness, and when you feel empty, you don’t know how to fill that,” he shared.
Image credits: Jon Scarlett-Phillips/Facebook
After his adopted mother suffered brain damage following a serious accident, Jon “went off the rails” and developed substance dependence issues.
Now married and a father to a 17-year-old son, Jon decided to get clean after nearly losing his life at the age of 18.
His wife, Becky, helped him overcome his dependency issues and encouraged him to search for his biological family.
Jon’s mother left him inside a plastic bag in the public toilet, with his placenta still attached
Image credits: ITV
“She’s the one that stabilized me [and] stopped me from making silly decisions in life,” he said. “I used to push people away, and then she decided to push through that barrier.”
After going on the show, Jon discovered that his biological mother was still alive and that she was 20 when she had him. He also found that he had two older half-sisters.
“I suspect she surprisingly found herself pregnant with Jon, and I think she couldn’t cope. When she left him, she was mentally in a very bad place,” said Long Lost Family’s social worker, Ariel Bruce.
Jon, now a 40-year-old father, went on the UK show Long Lost Family to seek answers about his past
Image credits: ITV
Though Jon’s birth mother was suffering from a long-term illness and was unable to meet him, he had the chance to hug his half-sisters for the first time.
An emotional clip from the ITV series shows Jon meeting and connecting with his sisters, whose faces were blurred to protect their mother’s identity.
Jon said his wife, Becky, encouraged him to go on the show and find his birth family
Image credits: Becky Scarlett-phillips/Facebook
Jon’s sisters gave him a message penned by their mother which explained her absence from the meeting. It read, “Hi, I’ve sent this message to the girls so they can let you know the reasons why I’m not with them today.
“Unfortunately, I feel unable, both physically and mentally, to come today following a long period of illness.”
“It’s not a no Jon, it’s just time,” one of the sisters comforted her brother as the message was read aloud.
“I didn’t want to search for a very long time. It’s hard, it’s hard to deal with,” shared the chef
Image credits: Jon Scarlett-Phillips/Facebook
The sisters said that discovering they had a brother was a “complete rollercoaster of emotions” that began with heartbreak and ended in “happiness.”
They promised to help Jon process the “shock” of meeting his new family and to “piece everything together” as much as they could.
“We have 40 years to catch up on and a very long bucket list,” the sisters expressed. “We would like you to know you have two loving sisters wanting to be a part of your life.”
Thanks to the show, Jon was able to meet his two half-sisters, who welcomed him into the family with open arms and gave him a letter from his mom
Image credits: nickyaacampbell
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Though he has not yet met his mother, Jon described her letter as “beautiful” and said that he felt “a lot lighter” and “a bit more full” after reconnecting with his past.
The 40-year-old added, “That emptiness has disappeared completely now. I’m a happy man.”
“We’ve always wanted a brother,” one of his sisters said on the show, to which Jon replied, “Well, you’ve now got one, and I’m not going anywhere.”
The story sparked debates about the desire to understand one’s origins and what truly defines a parent
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