A Scottish man who met his late Croatian father for the first time in his 40s, before they struggling to stay in contact with one another, has confessed he ‘thought they’d have more time’.
Long Lost Family reunited father-of-three Robert Lindsay, of Ayrshire, Scotland, with his father, Mladen Durdevic, from Split, Croatia – yet the realities of living so far apart took their toll and contact between father and son soon lessened.
And sadly, after first meeting him in 2015 and spending time as a family, Robert never got to see his long lost parent again – because Mladen died suddenly two years later.
In tonight’s emotional episode of the ITV show, the grieving son is seen paying his final respects at his father’s grave, admitting that he ‘regrets that things weren’t different’.
Robert Lindsay, of Ayrshire, Scotland, who met his late Croatian father for the first time in his 40s, before they struggling to stay in contact with one another, has confessed he ‘thought they’d have more time’ on tonight’s episode of Long Lost Families
He reunited with his father, Mladen Durdevic, from Split, Croatia in 2015 – yet the realities of living so far apart took their toll and contact between father and son soon lessened
Robert’s mother had a relationship with Mladen when living in London, aged 18, before falling pregnant and returning to the support of her parents in Scotland, while her lover returned to his hometown.
However, 40 years later, Mladen and Robert were delighted to be reunited with one another after the Scotsman’s wife Lesley contacted the programme.
‘Meeting my dad was very significant,’ Robert, who grew up with his mother and maternal grandparents, told the show. ‘To have that moment of going “You’ve got a dad” was big’.
Robert even took his sons on holiday to Croatia to meet their grandfather – but eventually it proved too difficult to keep in touch while living so far apart.
‘The biggest challenge was the distance. Being a working parent with three kids, it wasn’t easy to say “I’m just popping off to Croatia”‘, explained Robert.
In tonight’s emotional episode of the ITV show, the grieving son is seen paying his final respects at his father’s grave, admitting that he ‘regrets that things weren’t different’
In tonight’s episode, Robert was filmed going back to Croatia to visit his father’s grave, alongside his wife Lesley
And the phone calls became less frequent as the years went by – with Robert even admitting that neither called one another for nearly a year because they both appeared to be waiting for the other person to make the first move again.
But in 2017, Mladen sadly died, leaving Robert ‘shocked and emotional’.
‘You think you’ve got forever to make up with somebody but you are always on borrowed time,’ Robert admitted. ‘I’m so glad that I got to meet my father, but I regret that things weren’t different. I just thought we’d have more time.’
Yet the realities of living so far apart took their toll and contact between father and son (above) soon lessened
And sadly, after first meeting him in 2015 and spending time as a family, Robert (pictured with his wife in Croatia) never got to see his long lost parent again because Mladen died suddenly two years later
In tonight’s episode, Robert was filmed going back to Croatia to visit his father’s grave, alongside his wife Lesley.
‘I just feel sad,’ the businessman admits. ‘It’s been important for me to pay my final respects.
‘I definitely feel more at peace having come here, despite it obviously being a sad ending. Overall, I’m just so happy I got to meet him before he passed.’
He added: ‘My dad was an honorable good person, and did the right thing of meeting me at the beginning. I think I’ve done the right thing at the end as a son.’
‘Meeting my dad was very significant,’ Robert (pictured), who grew up with his mother and maternal grandparents, told the show. ‘To have that moment of going “You’ve got a dad” was big’