Man with Life-long Medical Condition Claims He Had a Miracle Baby (Full Episode) | Paternity Court

Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello.

This is the case of Runles v. Taylor. Thank you, Jerome.

Good day, everyone! AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr Runles, you claim a lifelong medical condition lead you to believe you would never be a father.

That was until the birth of your daughter Irelynn, who you claim is your miracle baby. But now the defendant says you are not the father. You are here to prove that miracles really do happen.

Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. Ms.

Taylor, you say it breaks your heart to stand in court to prove that Mr Runles is not Irelynn's daddy, as you wish in your heart he were. But you say the truth is another man is her biological father. Mr Runles, why is this test so important to you?

This test is so important to me, for me to be able to have a daughter, it's a miracle. JUDGE LAKE: Having Irelynn? RUNLES: Yes, Your Honor.

And, Ms. Taylor? TAYLOR: Yes, Your Honor.

You say you want that miracle, too? Yes, Your Honor. But you just don't believe.

No, I don't. This is the case. TAYLOR: Not in my heart.

No. Tell the court. Well, he has a.

. . Like, I don't know what it's called.

Called a hypospadias. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Can you describe that for the court?

All it is, is it's where the hole in the penis is in the wrong spot. Instead of being up top, it's more towards the bottom of the head. The doctor just said that it's a big possibility that I may never be able to have kids if the surgeries don't take.

Oh, and so you actually had surgeries for this condition? Yes, I've had, like, four. JUDGE LAKE: You have?

Yeah. To try to correct this particular condition? Yeah.

And none of them's worked. It's all closed back up, and the original hole opened back up. But he was never physically told by the hospital or a doctor that he wasn't able to have kids.

JUDGE LAKE: But you believe. . .

It wasn't a for sure thing. Right. But you were told that it was.

. . It could potentially be a complication?

Oh, yes. JUDGE LAKE: All right. And so, Ms.

Taylor, you were well aware of this? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: How long have you all been together?

We've been together almost four years. All right. So you were in a longstanding relationship?

TAYLOR: We tried for a good two years, and nothing was happening. We're talking about, you know, going into adoption if it didn't happen. To try to, you know, get a kid.

'Cause we really do want to start a life together. We wanna have our own little family and, you know, get out in the world. We had unprotected sex, and we tried for so many times to have it.

Nothing was working. So then I decided to go and do something different and. .

. Wait. What did you do?

You have to be specific in court. I had went and cheated on him with a guy I had actually known for a little while. That's funny 'cause that ain't what you had told me.

JUDGE LAKE: Oh, it is not? RUNLES: No. What did she tell you, Mr Runles?

RUNLES: Her original story, when I found out, 'cause like I said, this is a miracle baby to me. You know, this is. .

. Bottom line is, this don't work. If this is not my kid, I gotta go.

There's not no more to it. When you found out you were pregnant, who did you tell? The other guy were pregnant, or did you tell Mr Runles?

I told them both, actually. I told the other guy on Facebook that I might be pregnant. It could be his baby.

And I told him, too. But did you tell Mr Runles you cheated? No, I did not.

He found out physically on my Facebook. I had to hack her Facebook and find out by myself. And so what did you see?

The very first message that popped up was her telling the other dude that it might be his, or it's more than possible his kid. Oh, my goodness. And it hurt.

It was so bad. I felt like I had a heart attack. I was shaken so bad.

And every time I get to still thinkin' about it, like right now, my knees are just shaking 'cause it just hurts so bad to know that. Because up until that point, you believed you were the father and this was your miracle child? Legally, I am the father.

Legally, right now, I am the father. JUDGE LAKE: How far along was she when you found out or was Baby Irelynn already here when you broke into. .

. No, no, no, no. We.

. . I was about 22 weeks when he found out I was.

. . Yeah.

I was through the hospital appointments, all the pregnancy. . .

Ran her bath when she needed it. I went to the store when she wanted something. You know, I was there.

And so, at 22 weeks, you find this out, and yet you still stick by her and you stick by the baby? Yes, Your Honor. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) And you were there?

Yes, Your Honor. And are you there when Baby Irelynn is born? RUNLES: Yes, Your Honor.

I was at the hospital, the other guy was not, by our choice. I requested to have a DNA test done at the hospital, but I left for 10 minutes to go outside, get some fresh air or whatever. And I came back up, you know, and talk to Ms.

Taylor to see if she had talked to the doctors about getting one done. And she said no. That she wasn't gonna do it.

When we got home, I was like, "Why? " And she was like, "'Cause I don't want you to leave me. " Okay.

TAYLOR: He's telling the truth. Yes, he is. I wanna have the best for her that I can provide for her.

If I can't do it, then I want the father to do it. RUNLES: That's why I hyphenated the last name, too. Just in case, you know, she is not my kid, and, you know, she.

. . Legally, I'm still on the birth certificate, and I'm not gonna be taken off of it unless she decides to take me off of it.

Even though I knew that, you know, there was a possibility still in my heart that I knew there was a possibility that she wasn't mine. JUDGE LAKE: You are her legal father? RUNLES: Yes.

Yes. JUDGE LAKE: You are here today to determine if you are her biological father? Yes, Your Honor.

Why is it so important to you to establish that you are also the biological father? I've never fully gotten into my medical disorder, you know? I've never fully look into it.

I've never made myself 100% aware of exactly what was going on. You know, in my heart, knowing for so long that I've never had a kid. I've been trying to have a kid since I've been 18 years old, and, you know, it's just something I need to know.

And so Irelynn is eight months old? RUNLES: Yes, ma'am. Has it affected your ability to bond with her?

Sometimes it does feel a little wrong to be trying to bond with a kid that may not be mine, but, like I said, I've been there, you know, her whole life. I always get worried that he's gonna leave me 'cause you never know, you know? He's been there this whole time.

But you now fear that Mr Runles will leave? Yeah, 'cause when I. .

. Oh, no, it's gonna. .

. I mean, if she's not mine, I gotta go. You know, it's just bottom-line.

You positive? You're done if this is not. .

. RUNLES: Yes. JUDGE LAKE: You cannot stay in this relationship if Irelynn is not your biological daughter?

It would cause too many problems. So a lot is on the line? Oh, yes, definitely.

I have evidence here. I don't know. .

. I'd like to see that. What does the evidence state?

There's an ultrasound in there, and it was 22 weeks that shows the baby's features about how she looks and. . .

The thing that gets me is I don't really see him so much in Irelynn as I do, like. . .

I see the other guy's forehead, the ears, the chin and stuff. I'm sorry, but she has my big ears. So these are pictures of.

. . These are pictures of Irelynn?

TAYLOR: Yeah. That was at 22 weeks. You could see the features.

That was a 3D ultrasound and a 4D one combined. That's when I started to think that he wasn't the father. So I left it as that, and I didn't wanna tell him because I liked the way it was.

I was happy with the way we were living life. So the other guy does not believe he can be the father, either? TAYLOR: No.

He doesn't. He don't want nothing. He don't even want nothing to do with her.

RUNLES: He goes back and forth, Your Honor. I'm not even gonna lie. I've heard over the last couple of months different things, you know, he was wanting to, and then he didn't want to, and then other people tell him that he needs to.

. . What was your relationship like with this other guy?

We've known each other for almost a year. And then he came over one night, and wanted to hang out. We hung out, and it went into more than that.

A week later, I took a pregnancy test. They both came up positive. And I told him not to get his hopes up on the first one because I didn't wanna have him go thinking, "Oh, yeah, I'm having a baby, you know.

" And then I go to the hospital and I find out it's not his baby. Before we get into that. It's kind of funny how Ms.

Taylor says that, "He came over. " Because her whole story to me was she met him out at the park, and they went out to the woods to have. .

. No. We met at the park, and we had went back to my house.

But, yeah, you just said he came over to the house. JUDGE LAKE: So you are getting new information today? Yes, ma'am.

Yes. So you were told. .

. I was told that it happened outside of my house, in a park somewhere outside. I did.

I told him that. JUDGE LAKE: You did? But, in actuality, this man was in your home?

In my house, in my bed. Since we're telling the truth now. The truth.

BOTH: Right. Was this really a one-night stand, or did it happen more than once? It really was.

It was honestly. . .

My right hand to God, it was only one time we ever. . .

One time only, and that's the only time we ever had it, and then she happened. I just don't understand. I'm confused about it a little bit because I don't know.

. . Her eyes match his.

. . Like I said, she looks just like me.

Look at her. Butt chin, my big old elephant ears. (LAUGHTER) The smile.

JUDGE LAKE: You believe she looks like you? RUNLES: 100%. So, Ms.

Taylor, does she also look like the other guy to you? Yes, Your Honor, she does. She does have some of his features.

JUDGE LAKE: I wanna dig into this medical condition because I wanna learn more about it. Before I do, Ms. Taylor, can you please explain to the court your issue with the timeline.

You say this is also a point of confusion. The timeline. Me and the other guy had intercourse on the 26th of December of 2015.

And when we did that, a week later, January 1st, on my mom's birthday, as a matter of fact, I found out that I was pregnant. And it wasn't. .

. I don't. .

. It doesn't add up to me 'cause I thought it took a month. .

. You had to be pregnant a month before you're missed period in order to be free to be pregnant. So you're saying you just had sex with the other guy four or five days before you found out you were pregnant?

Yes, Your Honor. So you thought, "Maybe I was already pregnant. " And that would happen by Mr Runles?

TAYLOR: Right. But, because of the medical condition, you thought. .

. That's why you don't know. TAYLOR: Yeah.

'Cause I don't wanna say that it's his kid, and then. . .

I don't want her growing up like I did. I grew up with no father, so. .

. I want her to have the best future she can have. I don't want my daughter to have no father, and I want the best for her.

I want her to have an outstanding childhood. I want her to go to college, graduate, you know, everything. But she can't do that without having her father.

She needs a father to be able to have a shoulder to cry on when Mommy's not around. I just feel like if she had. .

. If she actually knows who her real dad is, when she gets 18, she won't hate me as much either. 'Cause she'll be like, "Well, at least, you know, "you went up to court.

You did all this for me. "Went and did the DNA to prove to me that, you know, "to show me who the real father was. " And that's what I want.

I just wanna make sure that she can have the best childhood she can ever possibly have. JUDGE LAKE: You know, Ms. Taylor, I must say to you, what I just heard was not a woman trying to save her relationship.

But I just heard a mother trying to save her daughter. The bravery you're showing right now is even beyond your mistakes. You want your child to have the best.

TAYLOR: Yes. And you're willing to put yourself on the line, your comfort, your life with this man. Yes.

JUDGE LAKE: To get the answer she needs. TAYLOR: Yes. And that's what being a mother is.

I'll drop everything for her. (APPLAUSE) I love her. That's what being a mother is.

You put your child before yourself. So we have a timeline issue and a medical issue. RUNLES: Right.

We now understand the timeline issue. I wanna further understand the medical issue. So I've asked Dr Brown-Parks to join us today.

Jerome, will you please escort the doctor into the courtroom? I'd like to ask her some questions about your medical condition. That's fine.

So that we can further understand. (CLEARS THROAT) Hello, Doctor. Good morning, Judge.

Thank you so much for joining us today. Mr Runles says he has a condition called hypospadias. He was told by medical professionals that it may affect his ability to have children.

Can you further explain this condition? DR. SAMANTHA: Definitely.

So, hypospadias, and I brought a visual for you, is an opening of the urethra in the incorrect position. So, on a normal penis, the tip of the penis is where the urethra comes out. In our patient's case, his is a little bit lower.

So hypospadias can come in all sorts of varieties. And usually with surgery, it's completely corrected. RUNLES: After I was 15, I think, and the doctors were like, "You know what?

You're old enough. "You can decide whether you wanna have another one "later in life or not. " And, you know what, at that point, after I've had four or five surgeries, I was just like, "I'll let God take care of it.

" So, he's saying that his surgeries were not successful? Correct. And so not being successful doesn't necessarily affect his fertility.

He still can have a good urine stream. And that's really a good test of the track of the semen. So, given the fact that he has normal testicles, from reviewing his case, that's where the sperm are produced and the outflow track takes the same outflow tract as urine.

So this does not necessarily preclude him from being able to father a child? DR. SAMANTHA: Not at all.

JUDGE LAKE: Which is pretty much what you were told? RUNLES: Yes, ma'am. Yes, Your Honor.

I mean, you know, it's like I said, they never gave me a 50-50 or a 60-40 or a 70-30. It was just a chance that it may not or it may happen. JUDGE LAKE: Very interesting testimony.

Thank you, Doctor. DR. SAMANTHA: You're welcome.

So, Ms. Taylor, after hearing the doctor's testimony, does this give you any further hope that maybe Baby Irelynn is Mr Runles' biological child? TAYLOR: I mean, there's always a chance for everything in life.

So it'd be a miracle for him and make his life so much better and completing. JUDGE LAKE: Well, I have to say, despite everything that has transpired, you all have truly done the very best you can try to make sure this beautiful, innocent young girl has a good start to her life. Amen.

JUDGE LAKE: So let's. . .

Let's get the answers we came here for. RUNLES: Yes, Your Honor. And let's hope that we can continue to do that with the truth as a foundation.

Jerome, I'm ready for the results. Thank you. You're welcome.

These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of Runles v. Taylor.

. . JUDGE LAKE: When it comes to 8-month-old Irelynn Taylor-Runles, it has been determined by this court.

. . Mr Runles, you are her father.

Yes! (AUDIENCE CHEERING AND APPLAUDING) Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

That's awesome! JUDGE LAKE: It is. Made me nervous for a minute, but that's.

. . It really is his baby.

RUNLES: Great. It's a miracle baby. Yeah.

JUDGE LAKE: Yes, she is. It's gonna help our relationship out. It's gonna help my relationship with Irelynn a lot more than it already is.

Well, you've been there for her from the beginning. RUNLES: Yes, I have. JUDGE LAKE: And you've given her your name.

Yes. You are her legal father, and you are her biological father. Thank you.

And so I'm so very happy for you both. I hope this is now that last piece of truth you needed to have. .

. TAYLOR: A family. A family.

The foundation of your family. And I wish you all the very, very best of luck taking care of that beautiful little girl. Thank you so much, Your Honor.

Thank you. You've warmed my heart today. Court is adjourned.

RUNLES: Thank you. I can't believe it. It's just too good to be true.

I love you. (BOTH CRYING) Look, there's Irelynn. Hi, baby.

Hi! Here's Daddy. Hey.

Here's Dad.