Her adoptive mom made a secret promise on the day she was born, and kept it for 17 years

As a little girl, Alicia Mae Holloway would daydream about her birth mother. What did she look like? Where did she live? Did she have other children?

“All I knew was that I was adopted on the day I was born,” Holloway, 28, tells TODAY.com.

Holloway, a ballerina who appeared on season 25 of "The Bachelor," was raised in Morgantown, West Virginia. She describes her parents Evelyn and Kenny as salt of the earth.

“My mom and dad are the most incredible people in the world,” Holloway says. "I really hit the jackpot with those two."

In a closed adoption, there is no contact between the biological parents and adoptive families. Holloway was conceived during her married birth mother’s affair with another man, and they decided to tell people that she was stillborn.

"People will say to me, 'That's so terrible that she said you died, but you know, I think she was just doing the best she could, and I don't have any anger towards her," Holloway says. "And you have to remember, I've had this amazing life. I thank God every day for my parents."

During the handover at the hospital, Holloway says her birth mother became unexpectedly emotional. At the time, she believed she would never see her daughter again. That’s when Evelyn pulled her aside and made a promise to send a letter and photos every six months.

Evelyn kept her word, and for 17 years, she sent biannual updates to her daughter’s birth mom.

“I get chills when I think about how she was watching me grow up and I had no idea,” Holloway says. “She knew I was a dancer and that I was doing beauty pageants and that I was a good kid.”

The day before Holloway turned 18, she met her birth mom for the first time. Holloway was shocked when she didn’t feel an immediate connection with the woman with whom she shares DNA. She expected a tearful scene like in the movies. She didn't get one ... but her mom did.

“But when her and my mom hugged, they had a long, long, long embrace and were both bawling their eyes out,” Holloway shared in a TikTok video.

“What my mom did for my birth mom was an act of love," Holloway tells TODAY.

At the end of their reunion, Holloway thanked her birth mom.

"I was like, 'Thank you for choosing the two greatest parents for me,' 'Thank you for giving me this beautiful, amazing life,'" Holloway recalls. "And I told her I was so grateful that she made the decision to (place me) for adoption."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com