I hooked up with my cousin at a family reunion

On November 12th, The Sun had an article about cousin romance:

It all started a few years ago at a family reunion, she explained.

At the time, she was 18-years-old and her cousin was 24.

Over the course of the week-long event, the pair found themselves sneaking off together to take naps in the same bed.

But the naps soon progressed into something else.

"After doing this a couple of times, we started getting handsy, and one thing led to another, and we ended up hooking up, not all the way, but almost all the way," she said, leaving hosts X and Y lost for words.

The anonymous woman continued: "Flash forward, I got accepted into a university near where he and his brother live and they have invited me to live with them. I said yes.

Map of the Day: Cousin Lovin’

In 2010, Mother Jones had a short article on cousin marriage:

Hm, how many states could I marry my cousin in? Turns out the answer, despite all that stigma and a slightly increased risk of birth defects in offspring, is, most states. Some have caveats, like that we wouldn’t be allowed to get married unless we were really old or unable to reproduce, and some wouldn’t let us get married but WOULD legally recognize our marriage as long as we had the ceremony somewhere else.

Kissing Cousins - The Popularity & Controversy of Cousin Marriage

On November 15th, 2023, American Marriage Ministries had an article about cousin marriage:

A quick intro to marriage customs between cousins. Curious if you can marry your first or second cousin, how common this practice is in the US or around the world, or why some see it as controversial while others don’t? This short article looks at the history, culture, practice, and prevalence of cousin marriage – also known as consanguineous marriage.

Every month, thousands of people search online for information on the legality of first and second cousin marriages. 

“Can you marry a second cousin?” they ask, or “Which states allow first cousin marriage?” and “Is marriage between cousins legal?” …You get the idea. 

Of course, some of these queries come from simple curiosity. Some are likely made by snickering teenagers, looking to cause trouble among classmates, or from uninspired comedians and bored office workers. (We’ve all heard the jokes at least once, right?)

But many of these searches are probably made by individuals who, well, want to marry their cousin. 

It makes us wonder: How common is marriage between cousins? Where is it legal to marry a cousin, and under what conditions or restrictions? Why is there so much controversy surrounding these types of consanguineous marriages (marriage between relatives), and has it always been this way? 

Let’s take a look!

Terms to know: ‘First cousins’ are non-siblings that share grandparents, and ‘second cousins’ are non-siblings that share great-grandparents. Some people may also be cousins through marriage or adoption; different rules may apply to cousins who aren't related by blood.

You can marry your first cousin in New York

On November 2nd, West Virginia television station WTRF had an article about cousin marriage:

New York may not be the first state you would think of when you think of a “Kissing cousin state” but it in fact, is one.

Although New York law explains that the state “doesn’t permit marriage licenses to be issued to an ancestor and a descendant, such as between a parent and child or grandparent and grandchild,” a marriage of first cousins is legal and would be protected by the state.

New York also allows a niece to marry her mother’s half-brother, but she cannot marry her mother’s full brother.

All these terms might be tricky, but a website is dedicated to explaining cousin marriage. 

A first cousin is a non-sibling with whom you share grandparents, meaning this person is usually family-related and is the offspring of an uncle or an aunt. A second cousin is a non-sibling who shares great-grandparents, according to American weddings. 

“In the United States, only 0.2% of marriages are between first or second cousins. To put that into perspective, about 3,980 of the 1.99 million couples married in the U.S. in 2021 may have been cousins,” according to American Weddings.