Loretta Lynn Reunites With Lost Love Child
The star's decades-long estrangement with her granddaughter is over.
Aug. 19 2016, Published 10:10 a.m. ET
Ailing country legend Loretta Lynn has finally ended her decades-long estrangement from her secret granddaughter — and she's stunned by the gorgeous gal's family resemblance!
NOCAPTION
Loretta and a host of Lynn kin recently welcomed home Alex Amaretto — the daughter of Loretta's son, Ernest Ray Lynn — who met her huge country music clan for the first time!
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A source told the GLOBE that Alex, 30, is the product of a casual affair her mother had with Ernest Ray, now 63.
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Loretta kept her secret granddaughter — who was born in Sydney, Australia — at arm's length after learning of her existence, because she's never approved of Ernest Ray's wild ways, explains the spy.
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"Ernest Ray has always been something of a 'black sheep' compared to Loretta's other five children," the insider says. "Loretta, by extension, found it hard to warm up to Alex — and Alex suffered for that."
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Ernest Ray's daughter Tayla — who is also a country singer — pushed family members to embrace her half-sister. Tayla was so excited to find out about Alex," the source dishes. "She's the one who arranged the meeting."
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But a stunning secret spilled out on Tayla's porch in Tennessee: the bombshell that Loretta had known about Alex for 25 years, since she was just 5 years old!
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Alex, a slim, striking brunette, didn't hold any grudges, the insider assures. "I'm really happy," she gushes in a video. "I'm really excited that this is happening. It's great to connect the dots."
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Loretta, whose grandchildren call her "Memaw," thinks Alex "looks more like her than any of her grandkids," Tayla says.
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"She kept saying, 'You look just like me,'" admits the Australian beauty.
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The touching June reunion came just weeks after Loretta suddenly lost her eldest grandchild, Jeffrey Allen Lynn, 47, to a tragic heart attack on June 6. Alex beamed after she met her legendary grandma, according to our source, and then she gabbed with Tayla and her newfound cousins.
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However, there is one shocking difference between Alex and the musical Lynn family: "I cannot sing," she confesses. But, she adds, "I can dance."