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A devoted dad was told after 21 years he had no biological link to his three sons.

Richard Mason, the moneysupermarket.com co-founder, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis two years ago. He was then told the three sons he had raised could not be his.

Doctors told Mr Mason, from Rhos in Conwy, that the inherited disease prevents male sufferers from fathering children naturally, The Mirror reports.

DNA tests confirmed beyond doubt that he had no biological link to his eldest son, now 23, and his 19-year-old twins.

Now Richard Mason’s ex-wife has been ordered to pay him £250,000 but is allowed her to keep the identity of the real father a secret.

Mr Mason believes that the same man fathered all three boys during an on/off four-year affair his wife Kate, 54, embarked on in the late 1990s.

(Image: Daily Post Wales)

But she only confessed to the adultery in 2016, ten years on from their divorce, when he confronted her about the children’s paternity.

It is not known if Mrs Mason’s former lover is aware he is the real father.

The case, reported in the Mail on Sunday today, came to light when Mr Mason launched a legal bid to claw back some of the £4 million divorce settlement his wife received, as well as suing her for paternity fraud.

As a result, two of the boys have since broken off contact with him.

Last night, Mr Mason, 55, said that discovering the boys were not his own left his life in pieces.

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“You don’t know what’s real and what isn’t – it’s as if I’m living in The Matrix,” he said.

His solicitor Roger Terrell said: “We understand that it’s a legal first because there has never been a divorce financial settlement set aside in such emotive circumstances.”

(Image: Daily Post Wales)

Mr Mason proposed to his partner Emma on stage at Venue Cymru in Llandudno at a carol concert in 2014.

The Mail on Sunday contacted Mrs Mason but she declined to comment.

Mr Mason also spoke to WalesOnline's sister title North Wales Live about how he considered taking his own life after the revelation, which you can read here .