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?
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
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
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 counselling, 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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