Christmas REUNION

Abby Murphy felt like there was something missing from her life – until she received a very special gift

- MISHAAL KHAN, LUCY LAING

As Abby Murphy waved goodbye to her friends at the start of every Christmas holiday, she felt that familiar pang of jealousy.

‘They would pile into their cars with their brothers and sisters, while I went off home with just my mum, Barbara, now 52,’ Abby explains.

‘I envied their big families, always having someone to hang around with.’

Friends had started asking Abby questions about her family life in summer 2010, when she was 10 years old.

‘They’d constantly say things like, “Do you have a dad?“’ says Abby, who’s now 20.

‘And I’d always shrug my shoulders and reply, “No, but I have my mum.”’

Only, their constant questioning left Abby confused.

‘I remember going home and asking Mum why I didn’t have a father,’ she says.

That’s when Abby’s mum sat her down and explained that she’d used a sperm donor to get pregnant.

‘She told me she’d been given a list of names, and that she had picked out my dad. She knew he had red hair and blue eyes, and that he was an engineer. But that was about it,’ Abby explains.

It was a lot to take in, but Abby felt relieved that she finally had an answer.

‘The more I thought about it, the more I realised it didn’t really bother me. There had never been a father figure around for me, so how could I miss what I’d never had?’

But while Abby didn’t miss having a dad, she still wished for a big family. A brother to look out for her, a sister to share her secrets with.