Lost Loves: Janet O'Regan searching for her father - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

justins5256 · 12-10-2009, 11:36 AM

I just watched this "Lost Loves" case. I don't think I have seen it before. It aired on November 9, 1988. The story was about a British woman named Janet Parker O'Regan. She was looking for her father. He was an American soldier stationed in Great Britain during WWII. He dated her mother very briefly before returning to the US. Janet's birth mother claimed he was killed, but Janet believes he is still alive. Does anyone remember this story, or know if the father was ever located?

bell83 · 12-10-2009, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justins5256

I just watched this "Lost Loves" case. I don't think I have seen it before. It aired on November 9, 1988. The story was about a British woman named Janet Parker O'Regan. She was looking for her father. He was an American soldier stationed in Great Britain during WWII. He dated her mother very briefly before returning to the US. Janet's birth mother claimed he was killed, but Janet believes he is still alive. Does anyone remember this story, or know if the father was ever located?

I remember it, but I don't remember there being an update.

justins5256 · 12-23-2009, 10:13 AM

Heir finder Josh Butler was interviewed in the segment. He is still around and has a website. I sent him an email. I'll be sure to post if I hear anything from him.

justins5256 · 01-06-2010, 09:31 AM

I was surprised when I checked my email this morning and saw that I had received a response from Josh Butler. Apparently, either James White (or some member of his family) saw the Unsolved Mysteries broadcast and threatened suit against NBC. This man was married and had children in the United States. The idea of having a child in England who was the product of an affair his wife most likely did not know about was apparently too much to bare. Butler indicated he never heard from Janet again after this and has no idea if she ever spoke to James White but it seems unlikely.

I must say I wasn't entirely surprised by this news. In the segment, it was mentioned that Janet's mother broke up with James when she discovered he had a family in the United States. She told Janet that James was dead when Janet was younger and rather begrudgingly gave Janet the "okay" to search for him when she was older. Josh Butler also located a photograph in a magazine of a man he believed to be James White with his troop, but Janet's mother denied it was him. Seemed there was some bad blood there.

This makes me wonder, were there any other "Lost Loves" that had sad/tragic outcomes?

crystaldawn · 01-06-2010, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justins5256

I was surprised when I checked my email this morning and saw that I had received a response from Josh Butler. Apparently, either James White (or some member of his family) saw the Unsolved Mysteries broadcast and threatened suit against NBC. This man was married and had children in the United States. The idea of having a child in England who was the product of an affair his wife most likely did not know about was apparently too much to bare. Butler indicated he never heard from Janet again after this and has no idea if she ever spoke to James White but it seems unlikely.

I must say I wasn't entirely surprised by this news. In the segment, it was mentioned that Janet's mother broke up with James when she discovered he had a family in the United States. She told Janet that James was dead when Janet was younger and rather begrudgingly gave Janet the "okay" to search for him when she was older. Josh Butler also located a photograph in a magazine of a man he believed to be James White with his troop, but Janet's mother denied it was him. Seemed there was some bad blood there.

This makes me wonder, were there any other "Lost Loves" that had sad/tragic outcomes?

Wow that was interesting. That certainly explains why it wasn't aired much. What a slap in the face for Janet O'Regan! I feel bad for her.

justins5256 · 01-06-2010, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crystaldawn

Wow that was interesting. That certainly explains why it wasn't aired much. What a slap in the face for Janet O'Regan! I feel bad for her.

Yes, Josh Butler said it only aired once. I seem to recall Lifetime aired the Steve Hadley segment in it's place.

My heart sank when I read about the outcome. Stack mentioned that Janet O'Regan had been diagnosed with cancer (breast?) some years before but had beaten it. Since that time, she had a renewed outlook on life and wanted to do many things, including find her biological father, James White.

She also wrote a letter that Stack read on air. The gist of the letter was that she was not looking for money, and didn't want to disrupt his life, she just wanted to get to know him.

I wonder if he even knew Janet's mother was pregnant. This story reminds me a lot of that other case about the woman searching for her father, also a GI, known only as "Duncan". In that case, at least, they did find Duncan and he wanted to be a part of his daughter's life and join her family too.

So I guess some people do see themselves on "Lost Loves" and not want to respond.

Judyhymesisalive · 04-29-2016, 03:34 PM

i think i remember this case, did they successfully sue UM? Is Janet still alive?

sdb4884 · 08-30-2019, 12:30 PM

Thanks to Chris Rogers help

I finally saw this case for the first time, quite amazing. No real update on the UM wiki which is disappointing i wonder what happened since the big reveal and court case?

WishfulDreamer · 08-30-2019, 07:11 PM

This is quite possibly the only segment I've never seen. If anyone knows about it being on a certain forbidden site or other location, please let me know

omegadoom · 08-30-2019, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdb4884

Thanks to Chris Rogers help

I finally saw this case for the first time, quite amazing. No real update on the UM wiki which is disappointing i wonder what happened since the big reveal and court case?

You're welcome. -Chris

Lallin · 04-12-2023, 08:51 PM

Can anyone tell me where I can watch segment about this story?
Thanks!

Janel "Jaycee" Miller · 04-13-2023, 02:56 AM

I too would like to see this segment if possible.

infinityluxe · 04-13-2023, 09:09 AM

Oh wow I never heard of this segment either.

It hits kind of close to home. My mom had a close relative pop up on Ancestry a few weeks ago. It was a first cousin once removed. Our family tree is quite elaborate, but from the common matches I could tell this person was related to my mom in a very specific way. They had to be the offspring of one of my great-uncles. The matches mother or father had to be my mom's 1st cousin.

I knew my granddad couldn't be the culprit because the match would have been closer. Long story short this person was adopted. They told me some specifics about their birth mother whom they never met and found she was born in Germany. Well only one of my Uncles has ever been to Germany when he was in the war.

Apparently he had an affair with the match's maternal grandmother and her mother was the offspring of that union. My Uncle was long deceased and he was only 20 years old. I don't believe he ever knew about his eldest daughter, but I could be wrong.

It got even more complex. When we got more information about the match's birth mother we found out she was brought back to America by the man who claimed to be her father. He was married and his wife and he raised the girl as their own. He was in his 90s and still alive so the match made contact. Long story short this guy was buddies with my great-Uncle in the Army and had no idea my great-Uncle had went behind his back and slept with his lady friend. He was devastated to learn he had blown up his marriage and took responsibility for a child that wasn't even his.

It caused a really rough reunion for my match because it blew up the entire family. Though her mom was deceased since 2014 there were brothers and sisters of hers who found out she was not their half sister at all.

The matches half siblings also never knew their mom put up a baby for adoption and refused to believe it until one of the sisters came forward and said she had known about the baby that was put up for adoption. They refused to believe she wasn't their half sister so a few key players got Ancestry tests. The results ended up being what I told my match they would be all along. Her half siblings would match me her, myself and my mother and the match's bio mom's "siblings" would not match with any of us.

It was a very sad "reunion". She was very thankful to me to have solved her mystery and to meet a blood relative for the first time. Crazy thing is she is terrified to look for her biological father now. She was told it was a neighbor/friend of the bio mom's but she was married to another man (who ironically was off at war) and gave up the baby (the match) before he came back.

A lot of these lost love segments do not end well. I'm sure many were "solved" on the show but I'm also sure it blew up a lot of families with these revelations as well.

12-10-2009, 11:36 AM	#1
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	Lost Loves: Janet O'Regan searching for her father I just watched this "Lost Loves" case. I don't think I have seen it before. It aired on November 9, 1988. The story was about a British woman named Janet Parker O'Regan. She was looking for her father. He was an American soldier stationed in Great Britain during WWII. He dated her mother very briefly before returning to the US. Janet's birth mother claimed he was killed, but Janet believes he is still alive. Does anyone remember this story, or know if the father was ever located?

04-29-2016, 03:34 PM	#7
Judyhymesisalive Wadada Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 31, 2016 Location: Germany Posts: 388	i think i remember this case, did they successfully sue UM? Is Janet still alive?
	__________________ If you're from Africa why are you white?

04-12-2023, 08:51 PM	#11
Lallin Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 18, 2022 Location: Croatia Posts: 5	Can anyone tell me where I can watch segment about this story? Thanks!
	__________________ Vielleicht Schläft Er Mit Augen Fern Allem Bösen. Fern Vom Leben, Von Illusionen, Von Zeit Und Raum. Doch Vielleicht Lebt Er Und Kommt Nach Diesem Traum. Vielleicht Schläft Er Mit Augen Fern Allem Bösen.

12-23-2009, 10:13 AM	#3
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	Heir finder Josh Butler was interviewed in the segment. He is still around and has a website. I sent him an email. I'll be sure to post if I hear anything from him.

01-06-2010, 09:31 AM	#4
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	I was surprised when I checked my email this morning and saw that I had received a response from Josh Butler. Apparently, either James White (or some member of his family) saw the Unsolved Mysteries broadcast and threatened suit against NBC. This man was married and had children in the United States. The idea of having a child in England who was the product of an affair his wife most likely did not know about was apparently too much to bare. Butler indicated he never heard from Janet again after this and has no idea if she ever spoke to James White but it seems unlikely. I must say I wasn't entirely surprised by this news. In the segment, it was mentioned that Janet's mother broke up with James when she discovered he had a family in the United States. She told Janet that James was dead when Janet was younger and rather begrudgingly gave Janet the "okay" to search for him when she was older. Josh Butler also located a photograph in a magazine of a man he believed to be James White with his troop, but Janet's mother denied it was him. Seemed there was some bad blood there. This makes me wonder, were there any other "Lost Loves" that had sad/tragic outcomes?

08-30-2019, 12:30 PM	#8
sdb4884 UM Meme Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 01, 2008 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 1,234	Thanks to Chris Rogers help I finally saw this case for the first time, quite amazing. No real update on the UM wiki which is disappointing i wonder what happened since the big reveal and court case?

08-30-2019, 07:11 PM	#9
WishfulDreamer Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 01, 2009 Location: L.A. Posts: 3,868	This is quite possibly the only segment I've never seen. If anyone knows about it being on a certain forbidden site or other location, please let me know

04-13-2023, 02:56 AM	#12
Janel "Jaycee" Miller Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 19, 2010 Location: South Jersey Posts: 408	I too would like to see this segment if possible.

04-13-2023, 09:09 AM	#13
infinityluxe Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 31, 2020 Posts: 274	Oh wow I never heard of this segment either. It hits kind of close to home. My mom had a close relative pop up on Ancestry a few weeks ago. It was a first cousin once removed. Our family tree is quite elaborate, but from the common matches I could tell this person was related to my mom in a very specific way. They had to be the offspring of one of my great-uncles. The matches mother or father had to be my mom's 1st cousin. I knew my granddad couldn't be the culprit because the match would have been closer. Long story short this person was adopted. They told me some specifics about their birth mother whom they never met and found she was born in Germany. Well only one of my Uncles has ever been to Germany when he was in the war. Apparently he had an affair with the match's maternal grandmother and her mother was the offspring of that union. My Uncle was long deceased and he was only 20 years old. I don't believe he ever knew about his eldest daughter, but I could be wrong. It got even more complex. When we got more information about the match's birth mother we found out she was brought back to America by the man who claimed to be her father. He was married and his wife and he raised the girl as their own. He was in his 90s and still alive so the match made contact. Long story short this guy was buddies with my great-Uncle in the Army and had no idea my great-Uncle had went behind his back and slept with his lady friend. He was devastated to learn he had blown up his marriage and took responsibility for a child that wasn't even his. It caused a really rough reunion for my match because it blew up the entire family. Though her mom was deceased since 2014 there were brothers and sisters of hers who found out she was not their half sister at all. The matches half siblings also never knew their mom put up a baby for adoption and refused to believe it until one of the sisters came forward and said she had known about the baby that was put up for adoption. They refused to believe she wasn't their half sister so a few key players got Ancestry tests. The results ended up being what I told my match they would be all along. Her half siblings would match me her, myself and my mother and the match's bio mom's "siblings" would not match with any of us. It was a very sad "reunion". She was very thankful to me to have solved her mystery and to meet a blood relative for the first time. Crazy thing is she is terrified to look for her biological father now. She was told it was a neighbor/friend of the bio mom's but she was married to another man (who ironically was off at war) and gave up the baby (the match) before he came back. A lot of these lost love segments do not end well. I'm sure many were "solved" on the show but I'm also sure it blew up a lot of families with these revelations as well.