“We all had a chuckle when the funeral director asked what our mother’s maiden name was.
It was the same as her married name.”
In the United States circa 2024, cousins dating or marrying each other is pretty taboo.
Heres what they had to say:
1.
“My fiances parents were second cousins, and his cousins also married each other!
They finally started dating in high school and married after college.
They had my fiance and his younger brother and continued in the same community.
His mothers nephew and fathers niece met at this wedding and are now happily married with two kids.
Yay, family closeness?”
My fiance and I are in NO WAY related…just in case that wasnt clear)."
anonymous
2.
“My fathers parents were first cousins.
Three generations later, we have seen no issues.”
“My great-grandparents were first cousins, married in the 1930s.
That’s definitely not unheard of…but it’s not great.
Technically, my sister and I are fourth cousins, and my dad is my third cousin once removed.
Even weirder is that I’m technically also my own fourth cousin.
The older I get, the more I think it was about keeping assets in the family.
It was the same as her married name.
Luckily, the funeral director said it was somewhat common in the area.
“My coworker married her second cousin.
It was no secret; they knew they were related, and so was the entire family.
Their divorce was wild.
“I knew two first cousins who married each other.
Not only that, but they also tried to have a kid.
Sadly, the baby didnt live, but just imagine trying to explain the family dynamic to a kid.
Their marriage didnt last, but maybe that was for the best.”
“My aunt and uncle are second cousins.
40+ years ago, in a non-Western country, no one was bothered.
Today, it’s mostly a trivia point for new acquaintances and to freak out the young ‘uns.”
“My in-laws are first cousins.
I was so confused when my husband told me this when we were dating.
Although it wasn’t unheard of in our culture in the older generations, it was still strange.
His mother has two brothers who married women who are sisters.
The kicker is they’re all first cousins too.
These marriages weren’t arranged either, purely by choice.
It’s super odd, but all their kids turned out fine.
That was always a concern for me because of the possibility of complications with inbreeding.”
“It’s common knowledge in my family that my maternal grandparents are first cousins.
There were only six people in their graduating class in high school, and they started dating right away.
Apparently, nobody cared in the 1940s.
It’s only weird at family reunions because my grandpa’s sister looks JUST like my grandma.
Also, having both sides of the family at the same reunion is weird.
My daughter has genetic abnormalities, and I’ve always wondered if that’s connected to their relationship.”
“Not myself but a girl I grew up with.
We were never particularly close, but I knew her by association.
They were first cousins, not even third or fourth cousins.
(We live in South Carolina, where this is unfortunately 100% legal.)”
“I was 19 at the time.
In 1999, my family and I took a trip to a Caribbean island for a family reunion.
While there, I went out to the local area to explore and met a young lady.
We flirted a bit and ended up hooking up back at her aunt’s place.
We made plans to meet up at the same diner a few nights later.
Cut to the next evening of said family reunion, and guess who happens to be there?
It turns out we are cousins.
We both chatted, laughed about it, and decided it was already too late.
We ended up hooking up a few times on that trip and once more back in the States.
“My partner’s ex-wife is also his first cousin.
I find this repugnant.
His mother told me while we were having a general conversation.
He didn’t really respond.
“Not me, but my good (but not great) friend.
She dated her cousin, who was FIVE YEARS OLDER THAN HER.
Five years isn’t much of an age gap, but she was SEVENTEEN WHILE HE WAS TWENTY TWO.
It was a very rocky relationship.
She was still living with her parents and in high school while he was in college.
The good thing was that we convinced her not to, but they stayed together.”
He proposed, and their family was not happy about it at all.
They filed for divorce in October of this year because of a ‘lack of intimacy.'”
“My mom met her first husband as a teenager and got pregnant at 15 with my older brother.
Turns out, my grandmother had not been truthful with my mom about who her biological father was.
“Thankfully, my brother was born relatively healthy.
He is in his early 30s now.
My mom didn’t meet her biological dad until she was 25.”
“My cousin married his cousin from the other side of the family.
This happened after his future wife was orphaned and moved in with my cousin’s family.
So basically, they grew up like siblings.
As far as marriages go, it’s one of the most intense, toxic marriages I’ve seen.
The kids are definitely affected, and I think they should have therapy if they can.
“Sometimes, they’re just living normal, quiet days like any other family.
Either way, it still weirds me out when I think about it too long.”
n48656c421
15.
“My brother has been in a relationship with our first cousin for about 20 years.
Thankfully, they are not married and have no children, but their relationship is very toxic and dysfunctional.
Im creeped out by the whole thing, but everyone in the family acts like its perfectly normal.
They share a grandma…ffs.
I dont talk to him anymore.”
