WASHINGTON — In a move that seems obvious in hindsight, TV host Maury Povich is launching a new line of at-home paternity tests.
Povich was the host of his own talk show until he retired last year, famously focusing much of its airtime on family drama, including questions of whether guests were the biological fathers of babies whose paternity was in question.
The former talk show host told TMZ last week his new paternity test company, called The Results are In, would send out testing kits that can be completed anywhere. TMZ reports they company promises a 99.99% accuracy rate in 2-3 business days
He stressed that the results would remain completely confidential, unlike those he revealed publicly on TV for more than three decades.
Even the company's name is a nod to his fame for paternity reveals: Povich's signature catchphrase before revealing if the man was the father was "the results are in."
In a video interview with TMZ, Povich said the kits would be read and interpreted by the DNA Diagnostics Center, the same company that ran tests for his show when it was airing.
“I’ve been around paternity testing for more than 20 years, so I know exactly what’s going on and how we can help those people who are looking for fathers, fathers who are looking for children, fathers who don’t think they’re the fathers and fathers who think they’re the fathers,” Povich said.
The kits are sold online and start at $199.
The DDC said in a blog post back in 2011 that they had run more than 3,000 paternity tests for the Maury Show.