In her first TV appearance, the woman who thinks she might be Madeleine McCann made an appearance on Dr. Phil.
According to previous reports, 21-year-old Julia Wendell, also known as Julia Faustyna or Julia Wandelt in media accounts, gained notoriety on social media for making repeated claims that she might be the missing British girl.
On May 3, 2007, three-year-old Madeleine inexplicably disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal while her parents, Kate, and Gerry McCann, were visiting a nearby restaurant.
Despite comprehensive searches from Portuguese law enforcement and pleas in the ensuing years, there has been no sign of Maddie’s whereabouts.
Before shutting down her social media accounts, Julia made some bold claims, writing that she has specific features that link her to Maddie, such as a speck on her eye. The claims led to Julia amassing tens of thousands of followers on social media.
Because of her claims, she underwent a DNA test to determine whether she is related to another missing girl, Livia Schepp, a Swiss girl who went missing at the age of six in 2011 with her twin Alessia.
In addition, the young woman – who has since traveled from Poland to the United States for “safety” – submitted samples for three separate forensic tests that will establish her DNA sequence with the assistance of Dr. Fia Johansson – a private investigator and self-professed psychic.
Now, while Julia is waiting for the results, she appeared in her first TV appearance with Dr. Phil, where she discussed her physical likeness to the missing child, as well as her mother’s alleged refusal to discuss her childhood.
Watch Madeleine McCann or Julia’s appearance on Dr. Phil below:
In an exclusive interview, she explained to the 72-year-old TV personality why she started to feel that she could be the missing British girl.
“About a year ago, I started to make research on the Internet because I started to think that maybe I’m missing child,” she said. “I felt in my life that something is wrong here because my mother didn’t hug me, didn’t say ‘I love you’, so, it was a little suspicious to me.”
“I started to ask my mother some questions about pictures from being pregnant and some documents, like birth certificate. She always changed the subject,” she continued. “Every child in my country, in Poland, should have [as] child health book. And my pages 0-6 they’re blank.”
“When I started to think that I could be Madeleine, I called to the Polish Embassy. I called to the English Embassy. Nobody listened. I decided to create this Instagram and try to use the power of social media. I want to know who I am. And I want to know if I’m Madeleine McCann,” she said.
Back in the live studio, Dr. Phil asked Julia when she first realized she may be Maddie, and she said it started in June 2022. He then asked her to examine her allegations, including the spec in her eyes and marks on her face.
Dr.Phil then addressed her parents, asking, “Your mother – the people who raised you – maintains that she is your biological mother, that she gave birth to you, right?”
“She said [that], but she would not show me any proof,” Julia replied, to which Phil interjected, “but she said she went to the hospital and gave birth to you.”
“Yes, she said. “When I asked my mother for a DNA test before this whole situation, she refused and did not want to,” she explained.
Julia’s full Dr. Phil episode will air on March 27.
