The Wheeler family of Bienfait has made national news, after sharing their story about finding their long-lost twin brothers. 

Pam Currie, the eldest daughter in the Wheeler family said that it has been a surreal experience.  

“We went through this five years ago when we first found our twins and then we ended up having the opportunity to go to Family Feud Canada in their premiere year in 2019.”  

It all started when a national media outlet put a call out for families who had a notable experience using ancestry.ca. After sending in her family's story, it went nationwide, reaching family and friends as far as Halifax, N.S.

Currie recalled how the whole story began. When she set out to find out about her heritage through DNA and the DNA kit came back, it verified she was 5 percent Indigenous. However, it listed DNA relatives that were in the system, including cousins. Three months later, she got a notification from the site. There was a new match. 

“The notification saying there was an immediate sibling, and I was very shocked that was what it was saying because I did not realize this was even a thing that could be a reality.”  

Currie had plans to go home that weekend and asked her mother to meet for coffee. She confronted her about the possibility of having brothers she wasn’t aware of. “She revealed to me that this was a secret she was basically keeping until her dying day, because it was a painful, painful experience that she had gone through, fifty years ago.”  

She described it as unbelievable and heartbreaking. During the conversation, she said she could see the weight being lifted off her mother's shoulders as she revealed the long-kept secret. Her mother was relieved the twins were located and had reached out after the discovery.  

They prepared to tell the rest of the family. She noted that her father had let the secret slip to her sister during a rough time in her life. The revelation of the secret was a weight off of everyone's shoulders.  

The Wheeler family met the twins in Moose Jaw three weeks after the initial email. She said it was unbelievable that they only lived two and a half hours away.  

“The meeting with them was fantastic. It was just so natural. It felt like they had been a part of our lives all along," said Currie. “It was just so warm, and they were so welcoming it was the most beautiful moment in our lives, and we were so fortunate that they harboured no ill will. They were just so happy to be able to find their biological family.”  

The twins were adopted. However, their adoptive parents had passed away not too long before they found the Wheelers. This changed the dynamic as they were open to creating a new relationship with their biological parents. By their third meeting in August 2019, Currie's sister-in-law suggested they try out for Family Feud, and were accepted. The taping was in December.  

“So that experience of flying all together to go to Toronto to do the taping, sharing 3-4 days in the hotel room, we took in the sites, we did family stuff,” said Currie. “It was just awesome. It was just a very happy memory to have made with them.”  

After appearing on the show, the newly reunited family celebrated Christmas together that year. Currie said in the five years following, they have remained close and get together as often as they can. She added that Todd, one of the twins, phones his parents nearly every night to talk about how their day was.  

Currie said she was thankful that she had completed the DNA testing and recommends others take a chance too. Although not all stories end up with the same happy ending, she said it's still worth it. 

“Be prepared for it, but to be able to take a chance to be able to have a new relationship and have new experiences and make new memories with family that you may have been looking for you all their lives. Why not just do it?”