[Grammar] loves him like he was or he were

[DANAU]

Hi.

I constructed the sentence below myself.

#1 - His foster parents love him like he was their own.
#2 - His foster parents love him like he were their own.

My understanding is that since he is not their real son, past tense is needed though the first part is in present tense.
But I am not sure whether "was" or "were" is correct.

Or, am I right to understand that we only use "were" when "if" is being used like the sentence below?

"His foster parents would love him more if he were their own son"

 

[emsr2d2]

With "like", I'd use "was". With "as if" (instead of "like"), I'd use "were".