Rory Feek’s Daughter Says She Learned From a DNA Test That He’s Not Her Biological Father

Country singer-songwriter Rory Feek’s daughter Hopie recently shared an update about their family, sharing in a video on Instagram that the results of a 23andMe DNA test revealed that Feek — who raised Hopie and her sister Heidi — is not Hopie’s biological father.

“I’ve always felt a little bit different — and now I know why,” Hopie, 36, said in the video. “I took a 23andMe test and I got the results I never knew I needed,” she added, showing a photo of herself with a man she had recently met. “Turns out this is my dad — not the one everyone knows — and his name is B.C.” Hopie noted that upon meeting B.C., he “immediately loved me and was so excited to call me his daughter.” Hopie expressed gratefulness for “the new people who I have in my life and the new family who love me for who I am.”

Feek raised Hopie and her sister Heidi as a single parent following his split with their mother, Tamara Gilmer. Feek went on to marry Joey Martin in 2002; together, they also formed the musical duo Joey + Rory, competing on the CMT musical competition Can You Duet?, and earning Billboard Hot Country Songs entries including “Cheater, Cheater.” Joey and Rory welcomed daughter Indiana in 2014. Joey died in 2016 at age 40, following a battle with cancer.

A few days after Hopie revealed the familial news in the Instagram video, on Feb. 11 Feek shared his own thoughts about the revelation in a blog post titled “A Different Dad,” published on his website. Feek noted that Hopie revealed the news to him in a meeting near where Joey is buried.

“I’m not sure what I thought Hopie was going to say, but I was not expecting to hear that,” he said in his post. “I just listened. Not quite sure that this was really happening–processing it the best I could.”

Feek also noted that the news did not completely surprise him, recalling a period of time just after Hopie’s birth, when he suspected that Hopie was not his. In his blog post, Feek wrote about recalling that the doctor had told him Hopie was born several weeks past her due date, which Feek had thought did not align with the timeline of when he had returned home from a six-month military deployment. In his blog post, Feek had also noted that at one point during his split from his ex-wife, he had asked her directly if Hopie was his child, and says that he’d been assured that Hopie was his.

“I told Hopie that I guess a part of me knew. But more than that, I told her I didn’t care. That this news and this blood test doesn’t change anything for me. ‘I love you as my daughter and I always will,’” he wrote. He also shared the “hurt” he has for Hopie, writing, “Hopie has such a tender heart, filled with child-like wonder and light, even in the darkest of days. It’s heartbreaking that she has had to deal with such an incredible amount of pain and loss in her relatively short life.”

That same day, Hopie wrote a response message on Instagram, expressing frustration and disappointment with Feek’s comments. “When I had the conversation with Rory, my one request was for him to be kind and not shame my mom. Today, he shared her private history in his blog, which is extremely disappointing. I shared my story because I couldn’t keep it all to myself anymore. I’m really not a public person, but because Rory is, my private life becomes content for his fans (who are often unkind online).”

Hopie also expressed displeasure and regret in having previously shared with Rory about her sexuality, noting that she felt Feek had used that information in order to sell books, such as his 2018 book Once Upon a Farm.

“From now on, I just wish my stories could be my own to tell and share,” Hopie wrote on Instagram. “I want to move forward and find happiness with the people who love me, far away from this online hate.”