A couple have shared how they accidentally discovered they were cousins 17 years after marrying.
Celina Quinones, 37, and her husband Joseph, 44, met at a Halloween party in 2006.
“We were inseparable after that,” Celina recalled, adding that they tied the knot just months after that.
However, their lives took an unexpected turn when Celina decided to explore her ancestry and took a DNA test. The results of the test revealed something astonishing: Celina and Joseph were actually third to fifth cousins.
Celina told Truly: “We decided to do our DNA test, and that’s when we found out. I was a little sick to my stomach.
“In my head, I thought we were supposed to get divorced.”
But instead of filing for divorce immediately, the couple chose to stay together, citing that keeping their family together is a priority.
She said: “Hey, for our children, for our household, we need to keep it together and stay together.
“It was a pivotal moment for us because you’re not supposed to look at your cousin or be with your cousin and I didn’t mean it but it happened that way.”
Joseph added: “We’ve gone this far and it’s ’til death do us part in my books so I wasn’t gonna leave over something like that.”
Celina also decided to share their unusual story with her followers on TikTok.
But the couple were bombarded with negative comments from trolls, with some even labeling the relationship as “sick”.
Undeterred, Celina addressed the critics, reading out a few of the hateful comments.
She said: “This is so disturbing, why would you marry your cousin? They look so much alike, how did they not know?
“I feel bad for the kids; hopefully, people don’t bully them. I’d be embarrassed if I were those kids.”
The couple explained that they have received unwavering support from their families, with their daughter also viewing the relationship as “kind of normal”.
Meanwhile, their eldest child admitted occasional discomfort but attested that their marriage faced “not one single problem.”
In response to the negative comments, Joseph said: “To the people who were giving us negative comments, it’s easy to speak on the outside without knowing the whole inside story.
“We found out almost 11 years later, three kids later… It’s just not something you break up and walk away from.”
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