Knowledge is power. In most cases, when you know more, you’re able to do and be better. But sometimes, ignorance is bliss. There are instances when the information you learn can bring about more grievance than enlightenment. This is certainly true when it comes to digging into your family history. Services such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe can offer a wealth of information about the people in your family tree, but sometimes, it's not for the best.
Families often have secrets, and little things like DNA and government documents can help to expose them. That was the case for one woman who learned something disturbing about her parents’ marriage after taking a DNA test.
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Kate Earley was troubled to learn of her parents' connection.
Kate recently discovered that her parents are much closer than most people’s parents. And we're not talking relationally, we're talking genetically. A DNA test revealed that her parents are actually second cousins.
Naturally, the news sent Kate’s sibling, who is in front of the camera, into a bit of a frenzy. As the sibling reads the results, her mouth falls open, she hops from one foot to the other, and she gestures to her mother for answers, an explanation or something. But her mother did not join her in the freak-out.
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Meanwhile, Kate's mother remained surprisingly calm.
Although someone in the background was screaming “No!” Kate’s mom waited until things settled down to calmly explain the family tree.
“Dad’s grandmother and my grandmother were first cousins,” she says.
Kate, behind the camera, makes retching sounds. Genetically, that makes the couple third cousins. So legally, they are able to marry.
Later, Kate’s mom declares that you can marry your second cousins. The sibling responds, “in Utah!” Then the mom asks, “Do you have a genetic disorder, Kate?”
Kate’s not entirely sure but her mother is. “No, you don’t. So quit whining,” she says.
'You should have looked into that a little bit,' Kate says, admonishing her mother.
Still discussing this most recent development, her mother says, “They don’t allow first cousins to get married.”
Kate responds, “I’m not worried about married. I’m worried about f—ed up kids.”
After third cousins is evidently when you’re supposed to have babies, not before. Her mother laughs. Kate says, “You should have looked into that a little bit.”
The mom says that she thought the fact that the government let them get married was enough to put them in the clear to reproduce. We're not sure the government does too much digging, however, when you file for a marriage license.
One TikTok user quipped that the family tree resembled something else entirely.
Kate was truly alarmed by the news, and the good people of TikTok were there to offer some light ribbing to help kick her while she was down.
“The family tree is a wreath,” one TikToker wrote.
“I can’t even imagine the feeling of betrayal that would give me. I’m so sorry,” another commenter offered.
Someone else was gracious enough to tell Kate that both of her parents are her cousins as well.
When someone asked Kate why her mom was so chill about it all, she responded, “I think she knew. .”
Yikes.
