According to Pam Hodgkins, chief executive of Adults Affected by Adoption, there have been a number of cases, although rare, in which siblings separated at birth have become attracted to each other later in life.
"We have a resistance, a very strong incest taboo, where we are aware that someone is a biological relative," Hodgkins said. "But when we are unaware of that relationship, we are naturally drawn to people who are quite similar to ourselves. And of course there is unlikely to be anyone more similar to any individual other than their sibling."
While it is technically a crime, and a bizarre one at that, for two people as closely related to each other as brother and sister to marry, no one can fault the couple outlined in this article. They simply did not know until it was too late. On the other hand a case in Germany in 2007, also involving a brother and sister, separated as children, made headlines when it was revealed that they had become amorously enamored with one another after being reunited later in life, and their case became a crime after they began having children with each other, four in all, some of which were mentally handicapped and/or were born with severe defects, and began campaigning to have incest laws repealed. The father in that case was incarcerated for two years for having the children with his sister because he had foreknowledge of the biological relationship between them, as did the mother, who received psychological help from government psychiatrists. The children were, of course, placed in the custody of state social services.
