Family Feud family reunion: long-lost relative surprises Metro Vancouver clan during game show
Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Sat, 29 Feb 2020 02:12:29 +0000
The Family Feud became a family reunion for a Metro Vancouver clan when a long-lost relative made a surprise appearance.
Burnaby’s Frankie Cena, a self-proclaimed game show expert, brought five relatives to Ontario this January to play the Family Feud Canada. But during taping, another family member appeared: Samantha Paradis, a woman who was fathered by Frankie’s late grandfather and unknown to the Cenas until recently.
Cathy Cena, Frankie’s mother, recalled the night she learned about her half-sister in a social media message. Certain it wasn’t true, the 49-year-old Port Moody resident called her mother.
It was true.
“My dad and Samantha’s mother were together when my parents were split up,” Cathy explained, “and then came a child.”
Shortly after her father died, Cathy flew to Barrie, Ont., to meet Paradis, who was a little younger than her own children. The similarities were unbelievable, Cathy said, and the two remained Facebook friends.
But that’s where they left it. The rest of the Cenas knew about Paradis but never met her.
“We swept it under the carpet,” Cathy admitted. “It was a dirty secret — we don’t talk about it.”
That all changed when Paradis learned on Facebook that the Cenas would be appearing on an episode of Family Feud Canada, which films in Ontario, and decided to attend the taping. The Cenas were shocked to see her rushing toward them as they completed filming.
Frankie Cena (left) and his family meet Samantha Paradis (third from right) for the first time, backstage at a January taping of Family Feud Canada.
“It was a heavily emotional moment,” Frankie said, adding that everyone burst into tears.
It was also a welcome distraction after some upsetting news: just before taping, the Cenas learned that Frankie wasn’t permitted to play due to another game show appearance set to air later this year. It was a big loss — he would have been the Cena’s most seasoned player, with ample experience on both the game show and pageant circuits.
In 2012, Cena won the Mr. World Canada competition, then hosted Mister and Miss World in subsequent years. Cena has also competed on Let’s Make a Deal, Canadian Idol, Canada’s Smartest Person, and even won a car on the Price is Right.
But the surprise visit from Paradis shifted the mood considerably. She didn’t get to join the family onstage, but according to Cathy, she’ll soon be joining the family in Vancouver.
“I think we’re going to see her more often,” Cathy said. “We had an amazing connection when we all met her.”
But did the reunion inspire the Cenas to a winning performance?
“We’ll have to find out if she was our lucky charm or not on Mar. 4, and that’s really all I can say,” Cathy said.
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