A man from Alabama who thought he had fathered 10 children with his wife of 15 years was shocked to discover that none of them were his biological offspring and that they all belonged to different racial groups.

Michael Williams, a 45-year-old plumber, said he had always trusted his wife Mary, a 43-year-old nurse, and never suspected anything was wrong until he took a DNA test as part of a genealogy project.

“I wanted to trace my family roots and see if I had any distant relatives around the world,” Williams said. “But when I got the results back, I was stunned. It said I had zero matches with any of my kids. Not even close.”

Williams said he confronted his wife, who broke down and confessed that she had been having affairs with various men throughout their marriage and that none of the children were his.

“She said she loved me but she couldn’t help herself,” Williams said. “She said she had a fetish for different races and cultures and that she wanted to have a diverse family. She said she didn’t think it mattered because we loved each other and the kids.”

Michael said he was devastated by the revelation and felt betrayed by his wife and children.

“I don’t know what to do,” Williams said. “I raised these kids as my own. I fed them, clothed them, taught them how to ride bikes, how to fish, how to play baseball. But they’re not mine. They’re strangers.”

Williams’s children range in age from 2 to 14 and include an Asian girl, a Hispanic boy, a Native American girl, an African American boy, an Indian girl, a Middle Eastern boy, a Pacific Islander girl, an Inuit boy, a Jewish girl and an Irish boy.

Michael said he doesn’t know how his wife managed to hide her affairs from him for so long.

“She must have been very careful,” Williams said. “She always came home on time from work or from running errands. She never acted suspicious or guilty. She always seemed happy and loving.”

Williams said he is considering divorcing his wife and suing her for fraud and emotional distress.

“I don’t think I can ever forgive her,” Michael said. “She lied to me for 15 years. She made me believe I was a father when I wasn’t. She robbed me of my identity.”

Smith’s wife declined to comment on the story.