Rita Wilson opened up about the life-altering moment she discovered that her father had a separate family in Bulgaria before immigrating to the US. The Now and Then actress shared insight into her father’s past on the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast on Tuesday, revealing that she first learned of his secret family in 2012.
“I did this English show, Who Do You Think You Are?, and usually in those genealogy shows, they go back many, many generations,” she said. “What they found with my dad was that his story was so shocking and unusual that they stuck with his story.”
The show uncovered that Rita’s father, Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff, was married to a woman named Alice, who died giving birth to their son, Emil.
“He was married, and he had a child. I said, ‘Am I going to meet someone? Am I going to meet a family?'” Rita recalled. “It was a little boy. And they’re like, ‘No.'” Tragically, Emil passed away just four months after his birth from an infection.
“It was right after the war [in] Bulgaria,” the actress recounted. “I don’t know how they would have afforded formula or something, but I’m sure they made ways.” Hassan then moved to the US in 1949, leaving his family tragedy behind.
“He never said anything to us. I wish I could have talked to him about that,” she added. “They kept things so private.” Rita also shares a sweet connection with her half-brother Emil, who was born on December 26.
© Instagram“My sister’s firstborn child was born on Dec. 26, and my youngest son was born on Dec. 26. And I think of my dad, all of those years, celebrating all those birthdays, and knowing that he had a child born on Dec. 26, Emil, who passed away,” she said.
Rita shares her sons, Chet, 35, and Truman, 30, with her husband, Tom Hanks. “I think if we were all more open with each other, then we all can see that we’re all in the same boat,” she concluded.
© FacebookDuring the interview, the mother of two also praised her father’s incredible efforts to build a life in the US after coming from nothing. “He was an extraordinary man. He escaped communist Bulgaria. He escaped a labor camp. He got on a freighter ship to get a job so he could come to America. He jumped ship when he got to America,” she explained.
© InstagramThe 69-year-old shared that he worked as a bartender and “never had debt in his life” despite buying a house and supporting his children.
“He and my mom were married for 59 years, and they were an incredible couple and incredible parents.” Rita grew up as part of the Greek Orthodox church, and continues to celebrate her heritage each year, most recently with Greek Easter in April alongside stars John Stamos and Nia Vardalos.
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