Dragons’ Den participants hope for financial investment, fame and success.
However, one woman got much more than she bargained for when she found her son’s half-sibling thanks to her participation in the show.
Last year, 39-year-old Zoe Chapman appeared on Dragons’ Den in a bid to win £50,000 for her award-winning product Kiddiwhizz, a unisex compact toilet.
During the show, Zoe said she came up with the idea for the invention when she was caring for her young son and her father, who unfortunately needed terminal care.
Both needed a portable toilet and despite her best efforts she had difficulty finding one.
Dragons’ Den contestants hope for financial investment, exposure and success. But for one woman, she got much more than she bargained for when she found her son’s half-brother
Last year, 39-year-old Zoe Chapman appeared on Dragons’ Den in a bid to raise £50,000 for her award-winning product, Kiddiwhizz, a unisex compact toilet
During the show, Zoe revealed that she found the invention while caring for her young son and father, who was heartbreakingly in need of terminal care.
Zoe was too busy at the time to create the product herself, but years later, after her father passed away and shortly before the global lockdown in 2020, she underwent back surgery and asked herself what she had always wanted to do.
In 2021, Zoe created a portable toilet and quickly started winning awards for her incredible invention.
And in 2022, she caught the attention of the producers of Dragons’ Den, who found the story behind her business interesting and asked her to apply for their show.
In 2023, she appeared on the show and the events that followed changed her life forever.
Speaking to The Independent, Zoe spoke about the weeks following her performance, admitting that the show ‘saved my business and changed everything for me.’
She said: ‘The show aired earlier this year and that’s when I started doing interviews. From there, an online group for single mothers called Frolo asked me to write a blog post about my experience.’
Her blog post received a lot of attention and a woman named Jess immediately emailed Zoe something that made the single mother wonder if she was “delusional.”
Jess wrote in her email, “I know this sounds very strange, but I saw your story and I think our children have the same father.”
Speaking to The Independent, Zoe spoke about the weeks following her performance, admitting that the show “saved my business and changed everything for me” after a woman named Jess emailed her questioning whether she was “delusional”.
In Jess’ email she revealed: ‘I know this sounds really strange but I saw your story and I think our children have the same father’
The businesswoman told the publication that she became pregnant at the age of 27 by a man she initially thought treated her “correctly” but that he quickly became “dominant” and “obsessive.”
She said she left the man after seeing the “red flags,” but was already pregnant with his child.
Zoe told the publication that the man demanded she have an abortion, but she wanted a child of her own. Eventually, the two separated and he wanted nothing more to do with her son.
Jess told Zoe that she had a three-year-old daughter. Although Zoe was initially confused by the message, as soon as the woman mentioned the name of the father of their children, she knew it was true. The women agreed to meet.
She told the publication: “When she read my story, she was immediately struck by the similarities.”
“My son’s father had done the exact same thing to her. He had told Jess he wanted her to have an abortion and used my son as an example of a child he already had and was not taking care of. She said there were more of us.”
Zoe said they introduced their children shortly after meeting and the kids were “obsessed with each other.” Despite being of different ethnicities, “you would assume” they were related.
Since finding out their children were related, the siblings have met several times. Zoe admitted how grateful she was, saying she ‘never would have found out’ if it wasn’t for Dragons’ Den.
