Two sisters who were adopted to different sides of the world before discovering each other thanks to a viral TikTok video have travelled to Colombia to meet their biological mom for the first time.
Rachel Weiner, from New York, had no idea she had a sister until the TikTok algorithm incredibly connected her with her biological sibling, Emelie, in Sweden.
After the pair met for the first time in June 2025, they made a pact they would one day travel to Colombia to visit their birth mother, Mariana Salazar.
Rachel, 27, was adopted at two months old, and because she was older and adopted from a different orphanage than her sister, Emelie, 25, who moved to Stockholm, Sweden, she had no way of knowing she even had a younger sibling.
Emelie, meanwhile, was informed of nothing more than she had an older sister who had the same parents, whose biological sister name was Karen, and had been adopted to the United States.
For years, Rachel would jokingly beg her adoptive parents for a little sister, not knowing she had a younger sibling on the other side of the world.
Then, in July 2024, Rachel decided to start sharing her adoption story on social media to connect with and raise awareness for others in her situation.
She posted a video about her adoption and the background to her life story – and months later, in February 2025, that video appeared on Emelie’s TikTok For You page, prompting her to realize the story closely resembled her own.
Having then connected on Instagram, the pair “thought each page was AI,” given how similar they and their lives and appearances looked, before discovering they were in fact biological sisters.
When the pair first met in Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, a clip of first-ever hug went viral – but their story didn’t finish there.
At the end of May, Emelie flew to New York City to spend time with Rachel, before the pair then travelled to Bogota, where they were greeted off the flight by their biological aunt and cousin.
The following day at their aunt’s house, on May 31, Emelie and Rachel were reunited with Mariana sharing their first hug in an emotional moment captured on video on Emelie’s phone.
Emelie encouraged Rachel to meet Mariana first, being the oldest sister, and their mom then held Rachel tight before looking at her daughter’s face, touching her and taking everything in.
Emelie then headed in for a hug, before the trio all embraced, with Rachel later sharing the clips on her social media pages, where she has shared her adoption journey from the start.
Going forward, Rachel plans to visit Mariana again with her adoptive family and Emelie, who will also be a bridesmaid at her wedding in 2027.
Speaking of the reunion with their mother, Rachel said: “It was an indescribable feeling – she just felt like she was indeed the woman who gave birth to me.
“So gentle, kind, welcoming, and warm – it was like something I never experienced in my life.
“I had been waiting for this moment for 27 years and I did it, I found her, I traveled to her and I have now met her.
“I could tell also that the hug meant everything to her in that very moment as well and that was super special and important to me.
“This was one of the best days of my life and I will continue reliving it in my mind over and over.
“I hope other people see that it is important to not give up on their dreams and anything is possible.
“Do not let anyone’s opinions or perceptions stop you from continuing to go after what you truly want.
“I also want people to know that although adoption can be complex, there are beautiful outcomes.
“Anyone who is adopted, thinking about adopting a child, or even putting their child up for adoption should know that it takes strength.
“My outcome was so positive and now all of my questions about my roots are answered.
“I now have not 1 but 3 families. My adoptive family, my biological sister’s family in Sweden, and my Colombian biological family.
“Family is so important and when you think about nature versus nurture a lot of who I am today came from all sides.”
