Chuck Norris Accepted Love Child He Didn’t Know He Had For 26 Years & Didn’t Need ‘Tests’

May 11, 2023

Chuck Norris is undoubtedly one of the most famous men in the entertainment industry. Known for his impeccable skills as a martial artist, as well as his work as an actor, producer and screenwriter, Norris is an unstoppable force. His best work, though, is his role as a husband.

Norris met his wife, Gena O’Kelley, in 1997, and the couple quickly moved forward with the next stage of their relationship when they got married just one year later. They went on to have a pair of twins together, as well as other children from previous relationships. It was clear, though, that Norris and O’Kelley had a romance for the ages, despite their astonishing 23-year age difference.

Norris has had a very busy and popular career starring in a handful of shows and movies. As an expert in various martial arts systems, Norris was able to implement these skills and use them to become a highly successful action star. However, he put all of that to the side when his wife became sick.

For a few years during the 2010s, Norris put his career on the back burner while he tended to O’Kelley, who struggled with some very serious medical issues that all stemmed from having multiple MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) taken. As a result of one of the used substances not leaving her body correctly, she contracted a rare type of heavy metal poisoning. Thankfully, the couple weathered this storm together.

Norris is a family man at heart and counts five children as his own. However, he never even knew one of them existed until she reached out to him.

Norris was born Carlos Ray Norris on Mar. 10, 1940. Most people know him as the famous Sergeant Cordell Walker from “Walker, Texas Ranger.” He played the role for all eight years of the series. Aside from this role, he also starred in over 20 action movies, is an acclaimed martial artist, wrote several books which saw him on the New York Times bestselling author list twice and even developed his own martial arts form, called Chun Kuk Do. Some of his most famous films include “Way of the Dragon” alongside martial arts icon Bruce Lee, “Good Guys Wear Black” and “The Expendables 2.”

One of the most notable things about Norris is his rise to fame among the younger generations. Starting in 2005, during a time when the star was already taking on fewer movie roles, the internet helped spread his name. Most people have already heard about the so-called “Chuck Norris facts.” Many younger people who had never heard of him before were suddenly getting to know the star and his work through the meme machine.

In addition to being the father of a million memes, Norris is also known as “Dad” to three sons and a daughter. Two sons were born during his first marriage to his high-school sweetheart Dianne Kay Holechek. Their marriage lasted for 30 years and ended in divorce in 1989. Norris stayed single for several years before marrying his second and current wife, O’Kelley, in 1998. The happy couple welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, in 2001.

While it seemed all was right in the world of Norris’ family, the star dropped a bombshell in his 2004 memoir “Against All Odds” about fathering a love child outside of marriage.

It came as a total surprise to his fans and family alike when Norris revealed to the world in his memoir that he had once been unfaithful to his first wife.

According to Contact Music, in the book, he recounted that while stationed in California during his time with the U.S. Air Force in 1962, Norris had a fling with a woman named Johanna. Unbeknownst to him, their tryst resulted in the birth of his daughter, Dina DiCiolli. Norris never knew about her until she wrote to him in 1990, claiming to be his daughter. DiCiolli herself had only discovered who her biological father was when she overheard her mother speaking about it to a friend. Norris explained that her mother “later confirmed to DiCiolli that I was her biological father but that I was married and had children and she shouldn’t disrupt my life.” He added that “to my shame, I never told Johanna that I was married.”

When DiCiolli, then 26, reached out to Norris a few years after his divorce, the star accepted her with open arms. He wrote of his first meeting with DiCiolli, who was with Johanna, in his book as such: 

“I didn’t need DNA or blood tests. I went to her, wrapped my arms around her, and we both started crying. At that moment, it was as if I had known her all my life.”

He also recalled the emotional moment to ET Online in 2004 and said, “So I walk in there and I look at (Dina), and she just looks at me. I look at her and its so amazing because I’m looking at her and she’s staring at me and we just sort of gravitate toward each other and we just went into each other’s arms and started crying.”

Did it surprise you to learn that Chuck Norris had a love child outside of marriage? Let us know and don’t forget to pass this along to all the fans of the martial arts star you know.