Toddler looks nothing like his mom or dad — then they noticed a strange detail in a 100-year-old photo

Family genetics can be strange. Every child has heard stories about their ancestors passed down through generations. Genes are the same. A mother, Courtney DeFusco, who goes by @design_your_blessings on TikTok, revealed that her 3-year-old son, Brendan, did not resemble either of his parents. He did not look like Courtney or her husband, Stephen. Eventually, the family from Massachusetts discovered the lineage that their middle son’s appearance traces back to. A family of five, Courtney and Stephen share three sons: Jackson, 7, Brendan, 3, and their youngest, Harrison, 2. Recently, Brendan went viral for his uncanny resemblance to a relative who lived about 100 years before his birth. 

DeFusco posted a video showcasing their son’s familiar appearance to his great-grandmother and her twin brother. The couple received a photo from Stephen’s aunt of their great-grandmother and her twin young children – Lucia, who becomes Stephen’s grandmother, and her twin brother Armando. Interestingly enough, the great relatives were of the same age as the couple’s son, three. In the post, DeFusco compiled four pictures of their son and his great relatives to let people draw the resemblance themselves. “This is my 3-year-old son who looks nothing like me or anyone in my family– he also does not look like my husband,” she wrote.

Comparing her son’s image to a picture of her husband’s grandmother and her brother, the creator revealed that Armando had died shortly after the picture was taken. “My son– the spitting image of this little boy– his great uncle Armando,” DeFusco confirmed. As mentioned in the caption, the late twin brother of her husband’s grandmother passed away from an illness at the tender age of 3. Yet, Brendan has an eerie resemblance to him despite being a century apart from each other’s existence. “Genetics are wild! My 3-year-old son, who had been a part of me since he was a fetus, looks nothing like me,” a part of the caption read. 

Brendan is part-Italian and part-Irish. However, his mother knew he looked more European than any of them. "When [Brendan] was born, we knew he resembled my husband's Italian side, and not my 100 percent Irish family," DeFusco later told Newsweek. The kid had large brown eyes, dimples, and olive skin. Yet, he somehow did not resemble his father, either. "We couldn't believe how much he looked like him. Even the way his hair falls on his face is the same,” she said. Even the kid himself agreed to sharing similar superficial attributes to his great-uncle. DeFusco revealed, “He is only 3 and sees that Armando has the same face as him, so he thinks the black and white photo is him."

However, the story is far from over. Discussions of reincarnations began when the couple realized that Armando had passed away from chronic bronchitis at 3. Strangely, Brendan was admitted to the hospital for a week at two months old for bronchiolitis. As Brendan’s unique story caught the wind on the internet, several people took a moment to share their thoughts on life and genetics. One person (@flppppr) wrote, “Something very beautiful about Mother Nature and how she links distant generations. Little Armando is being represented 100 years later.” Another (@adventuresofwigthemeeze) theorized, “I’ve found that genetics skip one of two generations. It’s strange but also a comforting link to the past.” 

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