To care that my children’s great grandparents were first cousins?

[Antipoodean]

Not particularly unusual perhaps, but I come from a very diverse gene pool myself (different hemispheres). I only learnt that my MIL’s parents were first cousins after we had children. Would this bother you? My dcs are healthy and I am not worried about them, I’d have had them
with the knowledge, it’s just a bit disconcerting.

No at all. My kids Auntie and Uncle on dads side are first cousins, their 5 cousins are all perfectly healthy

I personally have four male first cousins two are a similar age to me and we all knew each other as little children I can't imagine being attracted to either of them
Thec
Other two one is ten years younger than me and the other twenty years younger then me so even ignoring the family connected the age gap is just ridiculous

It's not as if you can do much about it now, OP, unless you get Marty McFly to go Back to the Future and distract them at the crucial moment. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My great nana and great grandad were 1st cousins. So what, it’s not illegal and it was not unusual in small communities.

Just thinking about my cousins like that is a bit ick. But we're close, so it would feel like that.

From a genetic perspective. It would worry me if it was a generation away. Or really common in the family. Or a rare genetic condition was common in the family.

At that far removed? It's just a historic oddity. I mean I know it's still legal, but not common anymore.

Of course it’s not. My MIL’s father was 20 years older than her mother (married when she was still a teen), so aside from all the genetic stuff it’s not particularly pleasant anyway.

This!

Can I just point out that it’s not unusual for people in this country to marry 1st cousins even now.

I think it’s best really op not to judge people you didn’t know who lived in a time you also didn’t experience. Really. Save your judginess for something else. Putin is a good one.

I’m not in ‘this’ country (assuming England) for the record.

God bless mumsnet

Really? I’d be very interested to see the stats on that.

Exactly

My grandparents were first cousins. It's not really that rare.

My great grandparents were cousins.

rather this than one of them being 30 and the other 12 which was way more common in those days than a bit of kissing cousins ffs.

In some cultures it is still quite common

I think there are many nuggets of information liable to be at least as unsettling as that in most family histories, tbh, op!

well if they're your grandparents I suspect a tad more than kissing went on...

I'd feel the ick if it was my parents, maybe grandparents. Not Great grandparents.

But you're right, if one of my kids started a relationship with one of my siblings children I would be very upset!

DP met his cousin for the first time at 17, she was 19 and had a relationship , their families thought nothing of it.

Smoking's not illegal but its not good for you. There are various other things like that. Saying there's nothing wrong with having children with your first cousin just because its not illegal isn't on

My PILs are second cousins. Discovered at the wedding.

DH and BIL are relatively normal....

I found out recently that my great great grandmother and great great grandfather were step siblings - that gives me more ick than a cousin marriage around the same point in the family tree.

I know it's legal but it gives me the ick too. The thought that my daughter might get together with my brother's son - just wrong. Two of my cousins have got together and it has caused more than a few raised eyebrows.