It’s been a gruelling few months for 21-year-old Julia Wendell who found instant fame on social media earlier this year for claiming to be Madeleine McCann.
After posting a series of videos on TikTok on why she believes she is the toddler who went missing in the Portuguese beach-side town of Praia da Luz in 2007, she caught the attention of global news networks, including Kate and Gerry McCann.
Hopeful that there was some merit to her claims, the McCanns even agreed to Wendell taking a DNA test.
To further her cause, Wendell embarked on a media blitz, starting with her appearance on US TV show Dr Phil.
During the interview, she said: “I want to know the truth, that’s all. I think everybody wants to know the truth.”
Now that the DNA results have been delivered, Wendell can close this chapter of her life.
According to the Daily Mail, the results have shown that she is not Madeleine McCann.
“Instead, the DNA results found she was indeed from Poland – as her parents had insisted – with some Lithuanian and Romanian heritage,” reported Radar Online.
Dr Fia Johansson, a private investigator who has been aiding Wendell in her quest to get her story told, told the publication that “she truly believed what she was saying”.
Hitting back at detractors, Johansson added: “This story is much more complicated than a simple girl from a small town in Poland making a claim to get attention.”
In the meantime, Wendell has moved back to Poland to stay with her father.