The history and legality of cousin marriage

My last blog post was from Reddit, but I found it through an AOL link. That article has more information about 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.

Woman Finds Out Her Fiancé Is Her First Cousin

At the beginning of January, a 22-year-old woman made a long post on Reddit after finding how that she is related to her fiancé:

Almost four years ago, I got into a great university far from home. My grandpa drove me down to campus and helped me move in. During orientation, I met Tom (not his real name). We clicked instantly. Same humor, same values, and a connection I had honestly never felt before. We became best friends very quickly and soon started dating.

Tom is also from far away, but our hometowns are extremely far from each other. Over the years, I spent some holidays with his family and he spent some with mine. My mom, my brother, and my grandpa (who passed away around Thanksgiving this year) all adored him and were very vocal about wanting me to marry him. His family accepted me just as warmly. Last year, his parents even gave him a large gift to help pay for an engagement ring. He proposed this past August, right around the anniversary of when we met. We are planning to get married in June, shortly after we graduate.

One more piece of context before the actual problem. Tom and I became sexually active about a month ago. We were both virgins when we met and had decided we wanted to wait until marriage. After he proposed, we decided together that we were comfortable taking that step, especially since I am on birth control and we were already planning a wedding. Our parents assume we are waiting, but no one has ever directly asked. Until now, this has not been a point of stress for us.

She doesn't say which state they are in, but there are several southern states that still allow cousins to marry: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. I would encourage cousin couples to remain virgins until marriage. I would also suggest an ancestry test to determine that you are actually related and health testing or a visit to a genetic counselor to see if there is any risk to potential children. She mentions that their mothers are twins, but doesn't specify whether they are fraternal or identical. She says they don't look alike which seems to imply fraternal, but it might be possible for identical twins to drift apart in appearance if they have vastly different diets and lifestyles. If the mothers are identical, then the couple would be genetically equivalent to half-siblings or double cousins (which North Carolina does not permit), although technically they are not those relationships even if genetics implies that they are. My own personal definition of inbreeding is when the parents share at least 20% of their DNA, but regular cousins would not fit into that category.

Real Christopher Robin Struggled with Winnie the Pooh Legacy, Married First Cousin

On January 9th, People had an article about Christopher Robin Milne (1920-1996) who was the son of English author A. A. Milne:

Christopher Robin led an interesting life, which included marrying his first cousin, Lesley de Selincourt. The couple, who did not grow up knowing one another because of estrangements in their families, faced criticism from both sets of parents for the union.

"They left London to get away from being part of the whole, as they thought, Winnie the Pooh circus went down to live in the West country, where they did very happily," Brandreth shared.

"They had a daughter who suffered from cerebral palsy, and they never took any of the money —because of Disney, we're talking about hundreds of millions — [but] in the end, they took a small amount of it. Not a penny of it went to Christopher Robin himself or to his wife. He took a small amount of it to look after their daughter who had cerebral palsy, and when she died, the money was left in a trust and is a charity called the Claire Milne trust, which is giving away millions to children and young people with disabilities in the UK," he shared.

Cousin Marriages: A Look at the Science and Culture

On July 25, 2025, Biology Insights had an article about cousin marriage:

Marriage between cousins, often referred to as consanguineous marriage, describes a union between individuals who share a common ancestor. This practice has a long history across various cultures and continues to be observed in different parts of the world today. While it might seem uncommon in some societies, these unions have been a part of human social structures for centuries, driven by a variety of factors.