Born in Melbourne 48 years ago, Eleni believed she was the fourth and only daughter of the Senior family and it wasn’t until two years ago, at the age of 46, that she uncovered her parents’ greatest secret.

“I had just returned from my yearly holiday in Greece and as I was discussing my experiences with my 84-year-old father and expressing my love and adoration for Greece, laughing at the fact that all my friends insisted I looked more Greek than English, my dad confessed to me that there was a possibility he may not actually be my biological father,” Eleni told Neos Kosmos.

Shortly after this revelation, she decided to undergo DNA testing, the results confirming her father’s initial suspicion.

For the Senior family, it all started when Eleni’s mum and dad, together with her three brothers, moved to Melbourne for work.

The Seniors moved into a house on Deacon Street.

“My father said that whilst living in Melbourne, my mother Moya who worked at a factory in Essendon got romantically involved with one of her co-workers, a very charming Greek migrant who lived on Buckley Street and was at least 10 to 12 years younger than her,” she recalls.

Eleni was born in 1970.

“I think deep down my father knew the truth but never went down the path of questioning my mother who in turn chose not to reveal her secret fearing such a revelation could result in a family breakup,” says Eleni, who was somewhat delighted with the concept of being of Greek descent.

“I always knew in my heart that I didn’t fit in and to me it all makes so much more sense now,” she says.

The Seniors left Australia and moved back to the UK eight years after Eleni was born.

They never returned since.

Sadly, Moya passed away five years ago in the UK at the age of 74 without ever confessing her secret to her daughter.

“Mum suffered from dementia, so I am not sure whether she would have eventually told me her secret. But irrespective of what she chose to do, I have done a lot of soul searching since the truth came out and I have decided to make the effort to find out more about my biological father, who must be around 72 to 74 years of age if alive today,” says the West Yorkshire-based account manager.

Eleni was always told by her Greek friends that she looked more Greek than English.

“I am a strong, independent woman and I am very happy with my life,” says the mother of two; Eleni has a 24-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son, “but at the same time every day that goes by I look in the mirror and can’t help but wonder who the other half of me is. I want to know if I look like my Greek father and I want him to know that if I chose to be anything, I would have chosen to be Greek.
“Every day that goes by I wonder whether my biological father knew the truth. I wonder if he ever met me or got to hold me in his arms, and of course I can’t help but wonder whether my mother had a reason for giving me a Greek name, as Greeks tend to do when they name their children after grandparents.
“Whatever the case, I just know that if I don’t look for him now, I will regret it later,” concludes Eleni.