Long lost (and even secret) children coming out of the woodwork is nothing new for Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow). When first she was introduced to Days of our Lives viewers, she was mother to but a single spawn: Lucas. Fast forward, and she’s sharing emotional reunions with Billie and Austin, sires she was told perished years earlier. And then there were the so-called “Gemini Twins” Cassie and Rex, genetically modified from her egg and Roman’s seed but cooked in Marlena’s (Deidre Hall) womb — don’t ask. And the less remembered about Philip and the circumstances of his birth the better.

But fans of the actress were in for quite the shock back in 2021 when Koslow shared that she’d been reunited with the son that she’d been forced to part with when she was but 16 years old.

Lauren Koslow Talks Reuniting With Son

The impetus for Koslow’s search was actually born out of the many reconcilements she played out on the Peacok sudser. “That is the secret, honestly,” confided Koslow to Women’s World. “A lot of actors, some of their best performances come out of things we’ve experienced, and that applies to anyone in the arts, really.

“I remember one of our producers saying, ‘Oh, you do such a good job as a mother. Kate should have more children,’” she continues. “My children [Millikate and Zachariah] were 2 and 5 at the time, and I played it off, but deep down, there was all that pain and it was always there, so it was immediately available to me as an actress. I used it all the time… but it was painful.”

Koslow registered herself on Ancestry.com and anxiously awaited a connection…and waited…and waited…and waited…and finally, she ceased returning to the website altogether — until one auspicious day:

“I hadn’t been on Ancestry.com for probably three years…I just decided to go on… and I saw this connection. Had I never gone back on, I would never have known. And I’ll tell you, I’ve acted in moments that are supreme emotion on DAYS, but I literally fell to my knees.

“These past few years have been the highest of life, and sometimes the lowest, because you are recreating a relationship. Right now, [my relationship with Josh is] really in a wonderful place. We text each other every single day. We live on opposite coasts, which makes it a little difficult, but it’s a miracle in my life and I’m forever grateful that we were able to reconnect.”

Koslow’s greatest hope is that by sharing her story, a greater conversation will be generated, and the stinging self-recrimination harbored by some can be released and psyches healed.

“At 16, adoption was the choice my parents made and it was a secret I lived with my entire life, so it was important for me to share it first with my family and then with everyone. It really is a coming-out story, and you feel different afterward. There’s this hole in your heart that gets filled with the fact that you can talk about it.

“I found out how many other people have been through a similar journey because they’ve shared their stories on my posts. Some are still searching for their children.

“That’s why I want to talk about it — because there are other people in this situation keeping quiet about it and it just continues the shame around it. Once you talk about it, that goes. I would love to help other people experience that. That’s my mission.”

As for whether or not she’s game to see art intimate life for the umpteenth time, you bet she is! “After Josh and I found each other, I thought, ‘Am I ever going to get to play scenes like that again?’ [laughs] And of course you can, because the wounds are always there and they are still there… but they’re healing now.”