I also knew a guy and his sister I went to school with, who had a white mom but you'd never know from looking at them. And they weren't even dark skinned, they were medium toned/brown skinned/caramel complected, however you wanna call it, with absolutely zero indicators they had a white mom...
Not the complexion, the hair, the lips, the nose, the voice, nothing. Everything about then would lead you to believe they were from two black parents. I was floored when I found out they had a white mother...
So if I and others in this thread have seen occasions like this in real life, it's certainly within the realm of possibility that this chick could have a white parent...
The real problem here though is why is she so pressed to claim her white side. Nothing about you looks white, no one who sees you is gonna think "Italian!" of any degree. Even if she telling the truth, why is it so hard to embrace your blackness?
Being black is an exclusive club and having total pride in your blackness is even more exclusive. It's a shame so many of us wish that they weren't US...