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Woman Discovers She’s Engaged To Her First Cousin After A Shocking Family Christmas
You think you know your partner better than anybody else, but sometimes life can throw you a curveball.
Take this couple’s love story that seemed just perfect — they were college sweethearts, engaged, and planning a wedding.
But one family Christmas dinner changed everything.
Just six months before the wedding, they discovered that they were first cousins and their mothers were long-lost sisters.
The family they thought they knew opened a pandora’s box full of surprises and complications, pushing them to make the hardest decision — should they call off their engagement or stay together?
RELATED:
At a family gathering, couple discovered they are first cousins
Image credits: Natalie Runnerstrom (not the actual photo)
They found out six months before their wedding
Image credits: Getty Images(not the actual photo)
What was meant to be a joyful Christmas revealed a life-changing family secret
Image credits: Gabriel Ponton (not the actual photo)
Breaking the news to their families proved harder for one of them
Image credits: Brock Wegner (not the actual photo)
Image credits: A. C. (not the actual photo)
Despite the shock, the man’s family responded with empathy and support
The woman was heartbroken after her mother’s reaction
Image credits: Jordan González (not the actual photo)
Image source: Successful_Scale3476
The history and legality of cousin marriage
Image credits: Kateryna Hliznitsova (not the actual photo)
In the Western world, the notion of marrying a cousin is largely alien. In Western Europe, North America, and Oceania, only around 0.1–0.2% of marriages take place between cousins or close relatives.
But it isn’t so unusual in other parts of the world. Research shows that globally, over 10% of people marry their close relatives, including cousins — this being more common in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia.
It also wasn’t so unusual a few centuries go. Charles Darwin married his first cousin Emma and went on to have 10 children, while Queen Victoria also married her cousin, Prince Albert. This practice was fairly common among the royal family in 19th Century Britain.
Some countries have already banned cousin marriage entirely. In the US, 24 states prohibit first‑cousin marriages entirely while in Norway, the practice became illegal in 2024.
Other countries are gradually moving to outlaw this practice as well.
Cousin marriage is coming under more scrutiny across Europe, and in the UK, mainly from doctors, who say that children of first cousins are more likely to experience health problems.
Research says that although related parents share more common DNA and there is a chance of inheriting a genetic disorder, the overall risk is still low.
Experts say most children in such families are born healthy, but couples should still get genetic counseling to understand any potential risks.
“If you marry a first cousin and you also have a recessive condition, it does raise the likelihood that you will be at risk of your child being affected by that condition,” Alastair Kent, director of the Genetic Interest Group, told the Guardian.
Couples are often left with difficult questions
Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)
There is a huge stigma around cousin marriages. For couples like this, who only learn that they are related years after being together — by accident or through DNA testing — the shock often comes with shame and fear of society as well as their close family.
Especially if these couple have children of their own, the situation gets more complicated.
Different couples react in different ways — some choose to stay together while others might go their separate ways.
Experts say therapy and professional support can help people work through their feelings and reach a mutual decision.
Several countries also have educational courses for such couples, to make them understand the risks and possibilities. UK follows the policy of genetic counseling, where couples are asked to get extra screening in pregnancy and get specialist advice from their doctors.
Support poured in from readers who came up with solutions and gave practical advice
Some readers couldn’t resist making jokes
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What do you think ?
Shark Lady 4 hours ago
My great aunt and uncle were first cousins who had two children, it was much more common then. If it's a one off cousin marriage then there isn't usually any problems with having biological children, the issue comes when there are multiple generations of cousin marriages. In this case genetic screening could give them an idea of how safe having children would be.
David Andrews 2 hours ago
There is also the legal side to bear in mind. I'm guessing it is in the US from what she says in the original post, so in many states marriage between first cousins is not allowed, and there are some where entering into a marriage knowing they were cousins would be a criminal offence. Even if they marry in a state where it is legal, if they were to move in the future there are states that would not recognise that marriage as legitimate
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Bumpuff 3 hours ago
Bloody hell. I wonder if that is actually true? Funny AF though. What is the deal with saving their cherries until marriage??? What is the point of that? What if it turned out he had a micro-p***s and she only discovers this on her wedding night? 😭 The family sound absolutely bonkers. All of them. And asking them to stop shagging until they are married!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Trillian 1 hour ago
This is something I find so funny as well and it still seems to be such a thing in the US. No one here would ask an engaged couple "if they have been s****l" because duh, of course,
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Fellfromthemoon 3 hours ago
I would say genetic screening is a must, if they marry. Yes, I've read they plan to adopt; however, no family planning is 100% safe and foolproof. If they are religious enough to not do the deed until engagement/marriage, they are too religious to consider terminating a pregnancy, even if there is a severe malformation.
C M 17 minutes ago
My husband's late parents found out they were cousins after they married. It's not illegal here in the UK & there was no genetic impact on their 3 children. Apparently it was a bit wild when they eventually did find out but they come from an ethnicity where families are large & lots of family members they know personally but often dont find out they are related to until years down the line.
SnackbarKaat 24 minutes ago
My grandparents were first cousins, had 15 kids, loved each other a lifetime. That being said, genetically it's not a good thing.
meeeeeeeeeeee 35 minutes ago
If my mother had the same birthday as someone who lived far, far away, and then I discovered that person was a twin...while not knowing that my mother was a twin, my first thought would not be that the twin must be my mother. I don't believe the story is true.
Shark Lady 4 hours ago
My great aunt and uncle were first cousins who had two children, it was much more common then. If it's a one off cousin marriage then there isn't usually any problems with having biological children, the issue comes when there are multiple generations of cousin marriages. In this case genetic screening could give them an idea of how safe having children would be.
David Andrews 2 hours ago
There is also the legal side to bear in mind. I'm guessing it is in the US from what she says in the original post, so in many states marriage between first cousins is not allowed, and there are some where entering into a marriage knowing they were cousins would be a criminal offence. Even if they marry in a state where it is legal, if they were to move in the future there are states that would not recognise that marriage as legitimate
Load More Replies... Bumpuff 3 hours ago
Bloody hell. I wonder if that is actually true? Funny AF though. What is the deal with saving their cherries until marriage??? What is the point of that? What if it turned out he had a micro-p***s and she only discovers this on her wedding night? 😭 The family sound absolutely bonkers. All of them. And asking them to stop shagging until they are married!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Trillian 1 hour ago
This is something I find so funny as well and it still seems to be such a thing in the US. No one here would ask an engaged couple "if they have been s****l" because duh, of course,
Load More Replies... Fellfromthemoon 3 hours ago
I would say genetic screening is a must, if they marry. Yes, I've read they plan to adopt; however, no family planning is 100% safe and foolproof. If they are religious enough to not do the deed until engagement/marriage, they are too religious to consider terminating a pregnancy, even if there is a severe malformation.
C M 17 minutes ago
My husband's late parents found out they were cousins after they married. It's not illegal here in the UK & there was no genetic impact on their 3 children. Apparently it was a bit wild when they eventually did find out but they come from an ethnicity where families are large & lots of family members they know personally but often dont find out they are related to until years down the line.
SnackbarKaat 24 minutes ago
My grandparents were first cousins, had 15 kids, loved each other a lifetime. That being said, genetically it's not a good thing.
meeeeeeeeeeee 35 minutes ago
If my mother had the same birthday as someone who lived far, far away, and then I discovered that person was a twin...while not knowing that my mother was a twin, my first thought would not be that the twin must be my mother. I don't believe the story is true.
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