Martin Schmidt embraces his biological mother, Michelle Newman, after officiating her wedding to his biological father, Dave Lindgren, in Marshfield, Wis., Aug. 4, 2018. Newman and Lindgren were high school sweethearts who hadn’t spoken for decades until the son they gave up for adoption 35 years prior reached out to them. “It’s a powerful moment to give a hug to your birth mom,” Schmidt recalled of the first time they embraced after reconnecting. (Lauren Justice/The New York Times)Martin Schmidt knew from a young age he was adopted, but he didn’t seek out his biological parents until he was about to have children of his own. His adoptive parents, William and Cynthia Schmidt, gave him the paperwork he needed for meeting his biological parents when he turned 18 but “didn’t push it,” Schmidt said. “They absolutely loved me like I was biologically born. I have a great family.”
Still, Schmidt, 36, of Colorado, said finding out his wife, Carin, was pregnant in 2014 with their firstborn, Malcolm, “kind of pushed the issue. It made me want to meet the rest of the family I didn’t know.”
He initiated contact through the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, and the state first got in touch with his biological mother, Michele Newman. At the time, she was living in Hilo, Hawaii.
Newman was on her lunch break when she received the call from the state. She burst into tears. “It was immediate waterworks,” she said. “I called my mom. Then I went back to work and told my boss, ‘I’ve got to go home for the rest of the day.'”
Within a few days, she and Schmidt spoke on the phone. “It was just incredible, and overwhelming, to hear his voice,” Newman said.