A former Miss Nevada had a special reunion over four decades in the making. Elizabeth Hunterton met her biological mother for the very first time and shared her experience with PEOPLE.
Although Hunterton and her birth mother have been communicating over the phone and through text messages for the past four years, the pageant winner admits she was nervous about their in-person meeting after so many years apart.
“As my husband and I approached the location where my birth mother was waiting, I stopped walking and wasn’t sure if I could go through with it,” she said. “Ultimately, I chose courage over fear and I’m glad I did.”
In January 1980, just ten days after she was born, Elizabeth Hunterton was discovered by two pilots at a Nevada airport. She was eventually adopted and raised by a white family in Reno. She always knew she was bi-racial. But it wasn’t until 2018 that she was able to begin answering some of the questions about her birth story.
Using DNA matching, Hunterton was able to identify her father, who was Black and passed away in 2004. In 2020, she made a connection with a second cousin on her mother’s side who helped her identify her mother, who is Japanese.
Although Hunterton and her birth mother have exchanged text messages and emails off and on since 2020, the two took a giant leap forward in their relationship when they spoke for the first time on Jan. 1. The 44-year-old pageant winner told PEOPLE that she immediately felt something familiar.
“It was like, I remember you — and it was just this really weird, unsettling moment,” she said. “I guess I just didn’t expect to recognize it, and it was very sweet, talking to her.”
Hunterton said her birth mother said she regrets giving her up, but that she wasn’t emotionally or financially prepared to care for a baby at the time. She asked a friend to take Elizabeth to an adoption agency, but she believes she was left at the airport because adoption agencies wouldn’t take a Black baby.
Hunterton’s adoptive mother asked Elizabeth to thank her birth mother for giving her the gift of life, something she said created a “really beautiful moment” during their meeting.
“When I told my birth mother this she teared up and said, ‘I have the utmost love, respect and appreciation for your [adoptive] mom. She gave you what I couldn’t.’ ” Hunterton said.
In a May 20 TikTok video, Hunterton told her over 135,000 followers that while she was left with a few more questions that answers, she’s doing ok after the emotional experience. She also thanked followers for their support through the process. Although she doesn’t know if she’ll have a close relationship with her birth mother, she’s open to making plans to see her again.
“Will we have this close relationship where we’re skipping through the meadow and braiding each other’s hair? Probably not. But I’m ok and I’m just working through it,” she said in the clip.
Hunterton said she plans to post more about the experience and her feelings as she gets a little more comfortable.