Jordan Matthews had been waiting for 10 years. 10 years of temporary homes, 10 years of saying goodbye to people who were supposed to be permanent. 10 years of wondering if anyone would ever choose him forever. And then at age 22, the Thompson family did what foster families aren’t supposed to do.
They legally adopted the adult foster child they’d been caring for. When Jordan revealed this on Family Feud, Steve Harvey couldn’t hold back his tears. and neither could anyone watching. It was December 3rd, 2022 at the Family Feud Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. The Thompson family had traveled from Portland, Oregon, for their chance to compete on the show.
The family consisted of Robert Thompson, 54, his wife Michelle, 52, their biological daughter, Emma, 19, their biological son, Tyler, 16, and Jordan Matthews. Well, Jordan Thompson now, 22 years old. From the outside, they looked like any other happy family. They wore matching green shirts with team Thompson printed on the front. They laughed together.
They had inside jokes. Jordan stood comfortably among them, joking with Tyler, high-fiving Emma, accepting Michelle’s fussing over his hair with good-natured eye rolling. To anyone watching, they were simply a close family. But Jordan carried something that the cameras couldn’t see. the weight of a decade spent in the foster care system and the incredible gift of finally being chosen.
Steve Harvey began his standard family introduction with his typical energy. He worked the crowd, got laughs, set the tone for a fun game. When he reached the Thompson family, he went down the line. All right, Thompson family from Portland. Let’s meet everybody. We’ve got Robert the dad, Michelle, beautiful mom, Emma the daughter, Tyler the son, and Jordan.
Steve paused, looking at Jordan with his characteristic sizing up expression. How do you fit in this family, young man? Jordan smiled. It was a smile that held a lot of history. I’m their son, too. Their son, too, Steve repeated. So, Robert and Michelle, you got three kids total.
Robert and Michelle exchanged a look. One of those married couple looks that communicated volumes silently. Michelle nodded to Robert, giving him permission to share. Actually, Robert said, Jordan is our newest family member, officially. Steve’s eyebrows rose with interest. Newest? What do you mean by that? Jordan took a breath. This was the moment.
He’d been nervous about sharing this on national television, worried it might seem like they were seeking attention or pity. But Michelle had convinced him. “Your story matters,” she’d told him the night before. It might help another kid in foster care know that families come in all forms. Um, I was in foster care, Jordan said, his voice steady but emotional.
For 10 years, I came to live with the Thompsons when I was 12. I aged out of the system at 18, but the Thompsons let me stay. And 6 months ago, even though I’m 22 years old, they legally adopted me. The studio went quiet. Not the uncomfortable quiet of awkwardness, but the sacred quiet of people processing something profound.
Steve Harvey stood completely still, which for Steve was remarkable. His microphone was lowered. His usual quickwitt responses were nowhere to be found. He was just standing there looking at this young man who’d just revealed a decade of longing distilled into one simple statement. “Wait,” Steve finally said, his voice softer than usual. “Hold on.
You were in foster care for 10 years? Jordan nodded. 12 different homes. Some were good, some were less good. I was a difficult kid for a while, angry. Didn’t trust anyone. Kept getting moved around. “And the Thompsons?” Steve asked. “Were supposed to be temporary?” Jordan said, looking at Robert and Michelle with obvious love. I came to them at 12.
They were my 13th placement. I remember thinking, “Okay, here we go again. I’ll be here 6 months, maybe a year, then I’ll mess up or they’ll get tired of me and I’ll move on. That’s how it had always worked. Michelle spoke up, her voice thick with emotion. Except he didn’t mess up. Well, he did mess up.
He was a 12-year-old boy with a lot of trauma, but we didn’t give up on him. I tested them, Jordan admitted. I broke curfew. I failed classes. I was disrespectful. I was waiting for them to send me back because that’s what always happened. But they didn’t. They just kept staying. They kept showing up. They kept saying, “We’re not going anywhere.
” Robert added, “We told him the first week he came to us. You can test us all you want. We’re not giving up on you. You’re home now, and we meant it.” Steve’s eyes were glistening. So, you kept him even after he aged out of foster care. Even when the state wasn’t paying you anymore, even when legally you had no obligation.
Of course, Michelle said simply, as if there was no other option. He’s our son. The fact that it took us four more years to make it official was just a paperwork issue. Jordan’s voice cracked as he continued. When I turned 18, I aged out of the system. Most foster kids, they’re on their own at that point.
Statistics say most end up homeless or incarcerated within a few years. I was terrified. I had no plan, no family, nowhere to go. And the Thompsons just said, “You’re staying here. This is your home. You’re going to college, and you’re going to come home to us every holiday.” They didn’t even make it sound like a favor.
They made it sound like that’s just what families do. Emma spoke up for the first time, because it is what families do. Jordan’s my brother. He’s been my brother since I was 9 years old. The adoption just made official what was already true. Tyler nodded. Jordan taught me how to throw a football. He helped me with my math homework. He’s the one I go to when I need advice.
He’s not my foster brother. He’s just my brother. Steve Harvey was crying now, openly, not trying to hide it. The audience was crying. The camera operators were crying. The producers in the control room were crying. Why wait until you were 22? Steve asked. Why not adopt him when he was younger? Robert’s expression became pained. We tried.
We wanted to adopt him when he was 14. But his biological mother, who’d lost custody when he was young, wouldn’t sign away her parental rights. She kept saying she’d get herself together and take him back. She never did, but she wouldn’t sign the papers. We had lawyers. We had social workers advocating, but the system is complicated. And Jordan suffered for it.
Jordan nodded. Every time we tried to move forward with adoption, my birth mom would block it. She’d show up just enough to prevent the termination of her rights, but not enough to actually be a mother. It was like she didn’t want me, but she didn’t want anyone else to have me either.
That must have been painful, Steve said gently. It was torture, Jordan admitted. Because I had a family. They were right there. They wanted me. I wanted them. But legally, I was still in limbo. I wasn’t really theirs. And I kept thinking, what if something happens? What if they change their minds? What if legally I’m nothing to them? Michelle reached over and grabbed Jordan’s hand.
You were never nothing to us. Not for one second. I know that now, Jordan said, squeezing her hand back. But for years, I lived in fear. Even after I aged out, even living with them, I felt temporary, like I was a guest who’d overstayed their welcome. It took therapy and a lot of patience from this family to help me understand I wasn’t going anywhere. Steve leaned forward.
So, what changed? How did you finally get adopted at 22? My birthmother passed away, Jordan said quietly. 8 months ago, I hadn’t seen her in years, but the news still hit hard. She was still my mother, even if she couldn’t be what I needed. But with her death, the legal barrier was gone. Two months after she passed, the Thompson sat me down and asked if I wanted to be legally adopted.
If I wanted to change my last name to Thompson, if I wanted to make official what had been real for 10 years. And what did you say? Steve asked, though the answer was obvious. Jordan’s smile broke through his tears. I said yes before they even finished asking. We filed the paperwork, got a lawyer, and 6 months ago, a judge signed the papers.
At 22 years old, I got adopted. I got chosen. I got a permanent family. Show me your ID, Steve said suddenly. Jordan looked surprised. What? Your driver’s license. Show me. Jordan pulled out his wallet and handed Steve his driver’s license. Steve held it up toward the camera. Jordan Matthew Thompson. Steve read. Not Matthews anymore. Thompson.
He handed the license back to Jordan. How does that feel seeing that name? Jordan looked at his license, running his thumb over his new last name. Like I finally belong somewhere. Like I have roots. Like when someone asks, “Who’s your family?” I have an answer. Steve turned to the audience. I want everybody to understand something.
This young man spent 10 years from age 12 to 22 waiting to be chosen. 10 years wondering if anyone would ever look at him and say, “You’re mine forever.” That’s a decade of going to sleep every night, not knowing if you had a forever family. Can you imagine living like that? The audience was silent, absorbing the weight of that reality. Steve turned back to the Thompson family.
Robert, Michelle, Emma, Tyler, you did something that most people wouldn’t do. You kept a foster child who aged out of the system. You paid for his college. You made him part of your family without legal obligation. And then you made it official when nobody would have blamed you for just letting him stay as a long-term guest. Why? Robert’s answer was simple and devastating in its clarity.
Because he’s our son. The law may have taken 10 years to recognize it, but we knew it from the moment he came into our home. Family isn’t about paperwork, but the paperwork matters to Jordan, so the paperwork mattered to us. Michelle added, “Every child deserves to be chosen, to be wanted, to be permanent.
Jordan deserved that. He always deserved that. We were just honored to be the family who got to give it to him.” Steve Harvey made a decision right then. Okay, we’re going to play this game. We’re going to have fun. But first, I need to do something. He turned to the producers. Can we bring out the prize board early? There was confusion for a moment, but the crew adjusted.
The prize board was brought out, the one that showed what the winning family would receive beyond the standard cash prize. Steve looked at the Thompson family. Usually, we give the winning family their prize at the end, but I’m going to tell you right now what that prize is. If you win today, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you do, the Family Feud Show is donating $50,000 to the foster care organization in Portland that helped bring Jordan to your family.
Because there are more Jordans out there, more kids waiting to be chosen. And if this show can help even one more family find each other, then today matters for more than just a game. The audience erupted. Robert and Michelle were crying. Emma and Tyler were hugging their brother. And Jordan was experiencing what every foster child dreams of, being celebrated, not in spite of his story, but because of it. The game proceeded.
The Thompson family played with joy, with unity, with the kind of chemistry that comes from choosing to be family, even when biology doesn’t demand it. They played against the Williams family from Georgia, and it was close. But the Thompsons won in fast money with 224 points. When the final score was revealed, Jordan didn’t just celebrate the money.
He turned to Robert and Michelle and hugged them. the kind of hug that contained 10 years of thank you, 10 years of I love you, 10 years of you chose me. The episode aired four weeks later and became one of the most viewed Family Feud episodes in history. Over 55 million views across all platforms, but more importantly, it sparked a movement.
The hashtag number sign adopt older kids trended for a week. Foster care organizations across the country reported significant increases in inquiries about adopting older children and teens. Hundreds of families came forward saying they’d been inspired by the Thompson family to keep or adopt foster children who’d aged out of the system.
Jordan became an advocate for foster care reform. He started speaking at schools, at foster care conferences, at anywhere someone would listen. His message was simple. Older foster kids deserve families, too. 18 isn’t a magic age where you suddenly don’t need parents anymore. Love has no age limit. 5 years after the family feud appearance, Jordan graduated from Portland State University with a degree in social work.
At his graduation, three people cheered the loudest. His parents, Robert and Michelle, and his siblings, Emma and Tyler. His birth family, the one that chose him. The story of Jordan Thompson reminds us that family is verb, not just a noun. that adoption isn’t about age, it’s about commitment. That it’s never too late to be chosen.
And that sometimes the most powerful thing you can say to someone is, “You’re mine forever. No matter what, you’re home.” If this story of chosen family and unconditional love moved you, make sure to subscribe and hit that like button. Share this video with someone who works in foster care, who’s adopted, or who needs to be reminded that family comes in many forms.
Do you have experience with foster care or adoption? Share your story in the comments below. And don’t forget to ring that notification bell for more incredible stories about what it means to belong.
