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A millionaire businessman has spoken of his devastation after he discovered that his three children he had raised from birth were not biologically his.

Richard Mason, 55, who co-founded Moneysupermarket.com, found out his sons were not his after he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and had been infertile since birth.

Mr Mason's ex-wife, Kate, 54, who is believed to live in a £1 million house in the Uttoxeter area, admitted she had been unfaithful in 2016 after they had separated when confronted about the children's paternity, Mail Online has reported.

After Mr Mason had been told he had not been able to have children, DNA tests confirmed he had no biological link to his eldest son, 23, and his 19-year-old twins.

The businessman believes the same man fathered his sons during a four-year affair with his ex-wife, and is now hoping to track down the mystery man.

(Image: Daily Post)

Richard said it was: "not least for the boys' sake because they will want to know who their real father is, even if, hopefully, they'll always think of me as their dad."

It is not known if Kate's ex-lover knows he is the real father and she has refused to disclose his name.

After receiving the news, Mr Mason launched a legal bid to claw back some of Kate's £4 million divorce settlement, as well as suing her for paternity fraud.

She has since been ordered to pay £250,000 after a legal case that allowed her not to disclose the real father's identity.

Richard, now remarried to wife Emma, 46, said the revelation about his sons had left him heartbroken.

He said: "You don't know what's real and what isn't - it's as if I'm living in the Matrix. In an instant I discovered I didn't really have any children."

He has also claimed his ex-wife 'tricked' him into thinking the boys were his.

He added: "After the divorce, she constantly hounded me for more maintenance, even though I always complied with the Child Support Agency demands.

"The biological father has never paid a penny as far as I know."

Despite winning the legal case, two of his sons have now cut off contact with him.

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He said: "I'm not their father, I know that, but I'm still their dad. When I talk about them with other people, naturally, after 21 years, I say 'my sons', then I have to stop and correct myself and say, 'the sons I thought were mine'."

His solicitor Roger Terrell said the case was thought to be a legal first.

He added: "There has never been a divorce financial settlement set aside in such emotive circumstances.

"Normally, it's the husband brought back to court because he's failed to disclose some of the income, but in this case it was the wife, and paternity of the children was the issue."

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