Dominique from Djursland had nothing to go on in Sporløs. Today she has two mothers

Dominique from Djursland had nothing to go on in Sporløs. Today she has two mothers

Dominique lives in Djursland with her husband and children, the family dog, has a job she loves – and is close to her mother.  

But right now she is in Mauritius, a small island state east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Together with her husband, her two daughters and her Danish adoptive mother, she has traveled back to the island where she was born 48 years ago. Her father unfortunately passed away in 2010, but if he had been alive, he would of course have come with him too.

Here Dominique (right) is seen with her husband (left), their two daughters aged 11 and 13, and her mother, Else, on their way to Mauritius to see her roots: - My husband is from Iceland, and there you can practically look up in a card index who he is descended from all the way back to Harald Bluetooth. The only thing my parents knew about me was that I was born in a hospital and went to an orphanage before I was adopted to Denmark. (Photo: © Privatfoto)

The stay comes a few months after she returned to search for her roots through the DR program ' Sporløs '. She had virtually no information, not even a name for her biological mother.

But to her great joy, she found much more than she had dared to hope for.

Here Dominique and host Mette Frisk from 'Sporløs' are seen in search of family in Mauritius. In private life, Dominique is self-employed, has her own dance studio with 10-12 employees and a consulting job in Djursland Municipality for "beautiful, young people", where she works with young people and well-being, communication and body language. (Photo: © Dror Kasinsky, DR)

– It went really well, I found my biological mother and found out that I have a huge family; two half-brothers and a half-sister, their children and a lot of cousins, says Dominique on the phone from Mauritius, where they have been for almost two weeks. 

While it can be difficult for some to stay in touch after the program ends, Dominique has had a completely different experience. Six months after the 'Without a Trace' trip, she's back again to show her family her roots – and attend her "new" half-sister's wedding. 

- It's absolutely crazy that my two families have now met. It's also important to show my children that you can live in a completely different way than at home. 

Dominique on a visit to Mauritius. Here she is seen with her two mothers: her biological mother Monique (left) and her Danish mother Else (right): - It's a wild picture to stand there with both of them, says Dominique. She tells much more in the podcast 'Efter Sporløs'. (Photo: © Privatfoto)

A safe childhood

Dominique was nine months old when she was flown from the orphanage in Mauritius to Copenhagen Airport in Denmark and handed over to her adoptive parents. And then it was on to Jutland, where she grew up in Termestrup, which she describes as "a tiny village" between Aarhus and Randers. 

Her childhood in Djursland was characterized by stability and closeness. Dominique grew up with her adoptive parents and a younger sister, who is two years younger and adopted from Mumbai, India. 

As fate would have it, there were quite a few adoptive families in the small area, and that meant that at the "tiny" local village school there were seven other adoptive children of the same age from different countries. This meant that Dominique never felt different because they were a group with the same start in life.

Her parents chose to keep her original name, which today stands for Dominique as an early sign of the respect and openness that characterized the home.

- They always said that was the name we carried with us, and that we should therefore be called that. I am actually proud that my adoptive parents, who are Mr. and Mrs. Denmark and Dansktop, were so modern in their thinking that they kept my name. I am honored by that. 

When Dominique was barely a year old, she was adopted to Termestrup – a small village between Aarhus and Randers, where she grew up with her mother, father and younger sister, who were adopted from India. She describes it as a safe and happy childhood. (Photo: © Privatfoto)

Even though Dominique has always had a secure base in Denmark, she still had questions from the very beginning. 

- I've been thinking all my life: "Where do I come from, what do my biological parents look like?"

That's why she chose to send an email when she saw that 'Traceless' was looking for cast members. And she didn't regret it – because it gave her answers to everything and more. 

Was forced to give up the child

It turned out that her biological mother was 17 when she had Dominique.

The mother was with the father when she became pregnant, but he was not interested in having a child so early and left her. The situation left the young mother with no real choice.

- She was not of legal age and was forced to give me away. She was also told that she could never get married in the future if she was a single mother. I was with her for the first two days, and then she had to adopt me.

Podcast: After Without a Trace

In the podcast 'Efter Sporløs', Mette Frisk meets each of the season's searchers. They talk about their experience participating in Sporløs: The expectations before the journey, the emotions along the way and not least everything that happens after the camera is turned off. Listen to 'Efter Sporløs' on DR Lyd . 

The mother never learned what became of her daughter until that day in June when the 'Without a Trace' team suddenly appeared and told the mildly surprised mother that her daughter was in Mauritius to try to find her.

One more family – not a replacement

The meeting between mother and daughter is something Dominique will never forget, even though it may feel completely surreal to think about. 

– It was cool, but also completely crazy in a warm and loving way. Like giving your child a huge hug. It was cool. 

The rest of the family was also ready with open arms when the news spread that Dominique had come to find her roots.

And to her great and happy surprise, she also learned that her "new" half-brother will soon be moving to England with his wife and children, so she suddenly has some of her biological family very close. 

She talks about this in more detail in the podcast ' Efter Sporløs '.

Here Dominique is seen having dinner with her family in Mauritius with her two girls, their two mothers, her stepfather and the girls' cousin, while her husband takes the picture. The family speaks French and Creole and a little English, and communication is "better than expected," she says. (Photo: © Privatfoto)

She recognizes both herself and her children in her roots.

– I look a lot like them – facial expressions, eyes, smile. There's also this very energetic, happy way going on in all of them that I can see in myself. It's cool to see that that's where you get it from, and I can see similarities between my half-siblings' children and my own. It's crazy.

However, Dominique emphasizes that reuniting with her family in Mauritius has given her important answers. But it hasn't changed who she is. 

 "They live so differently than we do. It's great to be down here, but I'm also looking forward to coming home and having some Danish food," she says, adding:

- I've found some more family and know where I come from. But I'm still the same – there's just something new.