ONCE - Once Upon a Time podcast
Reviews, theories, and talk about ABC's Once Upon a Time TV show
I’m 95% convinced that Rumple is Zelena’s father. Cora and Rumple loved each other which is why Cora ripped out her own heart. BEFORE that little incident I think that they made a child, but just soon enough that she wouldn’t know she was pregnant when she left him. This is the reason why it was such a secret and why she abandoned Zelena without killing her (as we saw in OUAT Wonderland how Knave still cared about whether Ana lived or died even without his heart).
I believe this situation also caters to why Zelena is so messed up and powerful. She was conceived of love but born from a mother without a heart, that would make anyone crazy and desperate.
The “evidence” that Zelena had to use Rumple’s blood so she can’t be related would be pretty unimportant if she had no idea who her father was.