Woman Finally Hugs Biological Dad on 'Life-Changing' Trip After She Discovered a Friend Was Her Sister
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Julia Tinetti Cassandra Madison and Julia Tinetti with their biological father, Adriano Luna
Julia Tinetti waited 32 years for a hug from her biological father. This October, it finally happened.
Tinetti, who was adopted as a baby and raised by a single mother, discovered through DNA testing last year that her best friend, Cassandra Madison, was actually her sister.
This year, the siblings traveled together to the Dominican Republic so Tinetti could meet their biological father and nine other siblings face-to-face. Right away, they received a warm welcome from their family, who met them at the airport wearing T-shirts with a picture of the pair's faces. "Welcome to your family," the shirts read in Spanish.
"The trip was life-changing," Tinetti tells PEOPLE.
Julia Tinetti Shirts worn by Julia Tinetti and Cassandra Madison's family at the airport
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Tinetti and Madison, now 34, first met back in 2013 at a Connecticut restaurant where they worked. After learning they were both adopted from the Dominican Republic — and even had matching tattoos of the country's flag — they quickly developed a bond.
Although they'd previously checked to see if their adoption papers matched up — they didn't — in January 2021, Madison convinced Tinetti to take a DNA test. Then, they learned that their paperwork was wrong, and they actually were sisters.
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Madison — who took her own DNA test years earlier, connecting with their biological family for the first time in 2019 — couldn't wait to book a trip to meet them in person.
"I jumped on a plane as fast as I could," Madison tells PEOPLE.
But, her sister was nervous.
Growing up with a single mom, Tinetti had always wanted a father, but once she found out about her biological family, she was scared to meet them face-to-face. "I worried, "Are they going to love me just as much as they love Cassandra? Are they going to accept me for me?' " she recalls.
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So, she hesitated and delayed the trip. First she needed a COVID vaccine, then she needed a passport.
Finally, Madison insisted. She wanted to take a trip to the DR in October to celebrate her daughter Catalina's first birthday with her entire extended family.
"Catalina was never supposed to have a grandfather," she says. "My adopted dad is not involved in my life, my husband's father passed away, so she was never supposed to have a grandpa. So for her to have one and for him to be so awesome is absolutely incredible."
Julia Tinetti Adriano Luna and granddaughter Catalina
Another worry for Tinetti was her adoptive family, whom she didn't want to upset — but they were all supportive.
"Nobody was offended, nobody was threatened, everyone was excited," she says. In fact, her mother even came on the trip with her.
But when the plane landed, Tinetti panicked.
"I was like, 'I'm not ready yet. I'm not ready yet. I'm not ready yet,' " she recalls. "Cassandra was good though. She basically was like, 'We'll go whenever you're ready. You just let me know.' "
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When she was finally ready to walk out, all she could hear were "cheers" from her biological family members.
"I was like, "Oh my God, they look just like me,'" she remembers. "My dad was ahead of everybody and he just came up to me and he was like, 'My daughter.' And he just started crying."
She went on to post a video of their first hug on TikTok, which has been viewed over 70,000 times. "This Is THE MOMENT," she captioned the emotional clip.
Julia Tinetti Julia Tinetti and Adriano Luna
Tinetti, who spent the week connecting with her biological siblings, says as soon as they met, she felt like she'd found a piece of herself she didn't even know was missing.
"My whole life I grew up like, 'Oh, well, I'm adopted into this big Italian family.' And I was fine with it. And then when I met them, I'm like, 'Oh, this is kind of the piece that I was missing,' " she says. "Now looking back on it, I'm like, 'Oh, I definitely needed that.' "
Julia Tinetti Cassandra Madison and Julia Tinetti with their family
Now that they're back home, Madison says that she keeps watching videos of her biological father
connecting with his children and her daughter, his first granddaughter.
Back in 1988, Adriano Luna and his late wife, who were struggling financially, made the decision to place Madison for adoption in hopes of giving her a better life, he previously told PEOPLE. Less than two years later, the couple turned to adoption again when they had another daughter.
"My dad was just like a little kid," Madison says. "It was the first time in 35 years he's had all of his kids together."
Speaking with PEOPLE last year about reconnecting with his biological daughters, Luna said "nothing can compare to the happiness I feel now."
Julia Tinetti Cassandra Madison and her daughter with Julia Tinetti and Adriano Luna
While she was in the Dominican Republic, Tinetti also introduced her family to someone else very special: the woman she plans to marry.
Tinetti met California-based emergency room nurse Dereka Mejia on TikTok and proposed on Venice Beach in November. Now, she plans to move cross-country in late January.
Her family in the DR can't wait to meet her face-to-face. They're " ecstatic," she says. "Everyone's like, "When's the wedding?"
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In another moment from their trip that was documented on TikTok, Tinetti bought a bike for her 13-year-old nephew, who literally walked an hour every day to get to school. The clip, which has gotten over 10,000 likes, has even spurred others to buy presents for him and other boys in the DR.
"Everyone's like, 'How do we help more kids?' " she says.
So, she created an Amazon wishlist — and says she's been moved by the amount of people who are sending packages of clothing and sports equipment. (Since the company doesn't deliver to her family's home in the DR, Tinetti is receiving deliveries on their behalf, and will either ship it to them herself or take them with her on a future visit.)
"This opened my eyes to appreciate the life I have so much more," she says.
