'Roger is definitely a one-woman man

My Mum, Your Dad's Janey Smith on the impact of being adopted and her future with partner Roger

- EVE MACDONALD

When Janey Smith appeared on My Mum, Your Dad last year, she not only found true love in the form of fellow contestant Roger Hawes, but also a way to come to terms with issues related to her adoption as a baby.

During a particularly emotional episode which saw contestants participate in an “acceptance workshop” and open up about what holds them back, Janey, 49, from West Sussex, revealed how being adopted had affected her dating life. “Rejection and abandonment issues, I am a pleaser – these are all traits of being adopted,” she said. “It’s only the past few years I have addressed it and understand why I push people away and find an excuse to end things. I put barriers up.”

But it was during this moment of vulnerability that the postman fell for the singer. “I felt a connection when she spoke,” Roger – whose wife Joanne had died 14 months earlier from cancer – previously said.

Now, in an exclusive chat with new ahead of World Adoption Day on 9 November, Janey has decided to open up about her upbringing. She discusses her fear of being rejected and whether she and Roger would consider adoption themselves…

Hi, Janey. Can you talk us through your upbringing?

I was adopted when I was only a few weeks old and I’ve known for as long as I can remember. Sometimes you hear stories about people who weren’t told, but my mum and dad were always very open and honest with me. I don’t remember them sitting me down to tell me the story – it’s always just been something I’ve known. I knew my mum and dad “chose” me and, for their own reasons, they had to adopt, but I didn’t really question it. I just wanted to be like everyone else. It was like I carried around this sort of embarrassment about it and it wasn’t something I talked to friends about.

Why have you decided to discuss it now?