After 10 years of marriage, a couple decided to take DNA tests to learn more about their family trees. What they discovered next was not at all the news they were expecting. Celina Quinones and her husband, Joseph Quinones, got married in 2006. Ten years into their marriage, their DNA test results revealed that they are actually cousins.
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The couple, who have three kids, said no one in their families suspected they were related. "We ended up having our wedding, and even then, our grandmas seemed to be a lot alike, and they got along, but still, nothing clicked," Celina told People.
"We didn't think about it. I never saw her at family reunions, funerals, or weddings," Joseph said. After they made the discovery, the couple began having doubts on whether or not they should stay together.
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"I ordered the DNA tests," Celina shared. "They came in, and sure enough, we did our swabs, put them in the mail, and off they went. Then we got the results back, and I searched the family tree DNA — another part of the search — and saw him pop up there. And I go, 'Oh no.'"
Celina went on to explain how she became a little depressed after finding out the news. Joseph tried to assure her that it wasn't a big deal and that they should just brush it off.
Still, Celina questioned if they should get divorced. "I started rethinking … and then after a while, I was like, 'Nope, we're just staying together.' There's nothing we can do about it. I'm not going to let some blood come between us," she shared.
After they posted a video on TikTok sharing their shocking discovery, the reactions to the news were pretty mixed. "There's a lot of negative comments, it's horrible," Celina told People. "People keep asking, 'Why would you do that? Why would you post this?' But I take everything with a grain of salt."
"You couldn't torture this information out of me. We would have taken this to the grave cuz ," one commenter said.
"Ok just saw the first pic and was like dang they look like siblings ," another commenter laughed.
"I wouldn’t tell people this…. Kids get bullied for far less. Bless them," another comment read.
Even after all the backlash, Celina and Joseph have decided to move past it and carry on with their lives as is. The DNA results showed that they could be anywhere from second to seventh cousins.
"I feel a little more free," Celina shared. "Like, it is what it is. There are people that love no matter what or who, so why can't I love my cousin by accident?"
