A mother of three from Colorado has revealed she found out that she'd married her cousin and had three children with him completely by chance after taking a DNA test.
DNA kits are widely accessible on the market now and give a good insight into your heritage and family health history, but can also help you get in touch with long-lost relatives.
I did mine earlier this year, and I have since spent the rest of the year avoiding distant cousins I didn't know I had who happen to live about 20 minutes away, but that's just me.
Another thing these DNA tests can do is show if you are related to your partner, as one woman unfortunately found out.
Celina Quinones has come forward to share her shocking discovery that her partner of 17 years and father of her three children is, in fact, her biological cousin.
Celina took to TikTok, where she often shares glimpses of her family life under the handle @cillycely, to share her story, captioning it: "Married my husband in 2006. Not thinking anything of it, we had three kids. Come to find out we were related and cousins."
According to the Daily Mail, Celina stumbled upon this startling information while working on a family tree project. A DNA test unexpectedly revealed that she and her husband, Joseph, share a familial connection.
"Seventeen years with my 'cous-band'," Celina stated in a video via an auto-voiceover. "No, we didn't know until we did a DNA test. We had a four-month courtship before we got married. He is still and will always be my everything. I ain't gonna let a little bit of blood destroy what we created; this beautiful family."
Celina, undeterred by the unexpected revelation, emphasized: "My kids and my husband are my everything, and we looked past it. All our kids have 10 fingers and 10 toes. It’s a good ice breaker lol."
Screenshots from Celina's video indicate that the couple's ancestry results show a genetic match of 62 centimorgans (cM), a unit for measuring genetic linkage.
In response to criticisms and inquiries about the potential familial proximity, Celina explained: "Colorado seems so big, but it’s really not that big. Everyone knows everyone, and most likely, everyone is related. We're probably fourth, maybe fifth cousins."
As Celina's posts gained traction and went viral, various reactions poured in. While some expressed disbelief and shock, others applauded her openness.
One commenter stated: "Kudos to you for putting it out there," while another remarked: "This is something you don't tell anyone."
In the face of criticism, Celina defended her marriage in a post, stating: "Let me divorce him because we didn't know. Let me just tell our kids their parents are not together anymore because of other people's opinions."
In another post, she disclosed her initial reaction to the discovery: "I did my DNA test I think in 2016, and yeah, it was devastating because I was like 'babe we're related. Are we even supposed to be together? This is weird.' It really freaked me out."
Despite the challenges, Celina remains content with her life choices, concluding: "I wouldn't change it for the world... Cousband and wife for life! There is a reason why good couples look alike. I am just over here raising awareness."
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