Brittany was 29-years-old when she met her soulmate, Mark. It was love at first sight for both of them, and they have been inseparable ever since.
A year later, they got married. But little did they know, they were actually related...
Married
The pair felt like the next step in their relationship was to have a child.
They were both financially stable and had a 3-bedroom house with plenty of room for children and pets. They started trying for a baby, but Brittany couldn't conceive for some reason.
In Vitro Fertilization
Brittany and Mark decided to contact a fertility specialist to learn more about IVF. The doctor explained the process, and the couple decided to give it a try.
But when the medical professionals ran some tests on Mark and Brittany, they discovered something that nobody was prepared for.
DNA Tests
The doctors took a DNA sample from both Brittany and Mark to get a profile of their genetic backgrounds.
Then, as the lab assistant examined the samples, she noticed something bizarre.
A Shocking Discovery
She was shocked by how similar the two DNA samples were.
She initially thought that the couple might be cousins or second cousins. But what she discovered was much worse than that.
Fraternal Twins
The doctor invited Mark and Brittany back into the clinic and broke the news. He explained that the DNA tests indicated that they were fraternal twins. Brittany was shocked by the doctor's news.
"You can't be serious? There must be some kind of mistake!" she yelled. "Sure, we have birthdays on the same day, but that's just a coincidence…"
A Terrible Mistake
Sadly, it wasn't a mistake. Brittany and Mark were indeed siblings.
"The biological parents of the couple had died in a car crash when the couple were infants, and they had no close family willing to adopt them, so they had been taken into state care and were adopted out to separate families," the doctor who wishes to remain anonymous, explained.
Doctor's Explanation
"Due to a filing error, neither foster family had ever been told that their adopted child had a twin." "I really hope they can work something out," the doctor explained.
"For me, it's a particularly unusual case because my job is all about helping couples conceive a child. This is the first time in my career that I've been glad I haven't succeeded in that regard."
Court's Decision
Devastated, Mark and Brittany brought their case to court, which immediately ruled their union as legally invalid. Their marriage was then annulled.
But twins Brittany and Mark aren't the only ones who found themselves in this terrible situation.
Adriana and Leonardo
Adriana and Leonardo from Brazil were together for ten years before discovering they were related. They even had a child together.
The pair said they bonded over not knowing who their birth mothers were and spent years trying to track them down.
In The Hometown
Adriana met Leonardo when she moved back to her hometown after getting divorced, and the two instantly hit it off.
They discovered that their birth mothers had abandoned them both at a young age.
Their Childhood
When Leonardo was eight years old, he was told that the woman he thought was his birth mom was actually his stepmother.
Meanwhile, Adriana's birth mother left her when she was just one year old.
Radio Globo's The Time is Now
When Adriana was 39 years old, she decided to reach out to a local program called Radio Globo's The Time is Now, which specializes in reuniting lost relatives and siblings.
She asked them to help her locate her birth mother. Little did she know what she was in for...
Finally Found
Adriana was on cloud nine when she got the call from the radio program explaining that they had managed to track her mother down.
"We thought it was funny that both our mothers had the same name, but it is a common name, so we just thought it was a coincidence," she recalls.
Biological Sibling
Then, on the big day, Adriana's mother revealed that she had another child named Leonardo. "I don't believe you're telling me this," Adriana said. "Leandro is my husband." Unfortunately, it was true. The man she was married to was her biological sibling.
But the couple is still committed to their marriage. "At first, we were really shocked by it all, but we had a family meeting and told everyone that we are going to stay husband and wife, whatever anyone might think," Adriana told Radio Globo.