Awkward Family Story: The Puzzle
July 2nd, 2009
When I was first getting to know my fiance, he had mentioned he didn’t know who his father was until he was 5. Because his mom had remarried while he was very young. As I thought about it, I asked him, “Did you ever question why you had a different last name?” He said, “Nope, because my grandfather had the same last name as me.” So I asked “Well, he’s your grandfather on your mother’s side right?” (meaning that he had his mothers madien name)
He said “Well, sorta” I asked for him to explain. He made me promise not to laugh. So I agreed. He then went on to tell me, “It’s my mother’s mom, see my mother’s father died 2 days after she was born, so she remarried.” I was confused now. How did he have his grandfathers last name if it wasn’t his mother’s father? Well, as he went on to explain, while his mother and birthfather were dating, his mother’s mom and his father’s dad fell in love. So after his mother and birthfather got divorced. His mother’s mom and father’s dad got married. Meaning, His parents are also Step brother and Sister. How awkward.
(submitted by Kathleen)
Something similar happened in my family. My grandmother, Margaret, married my grandfather Lee. Her brother, Bobby, married a woman named Lisa. My grandparents had my father and his two brothers, and Bobby and Lisa had three children also. After all of the children were adults, some even married with their own families, my grandparents divorced. At the same time, Bobby and Lisa divorced. After the divorces were final, my grandfather married Lisa. There’s a reason for all that happening, and you can figure it out if you just think about it for a second. Anyways, since my grandfather married my aunt, my father’s cousins become his step-brothers and step-sister also. It’s actually a joke in our family now, they make jokes about being rednecks and that always comes up when they do.
Not really a big deal. My mother and father are step-brother and sister as well, and they were married AFTER my father’s dad married my mother’s mom. The weirdest thing about all four of them was the age differences… my grandfather was 20 years older than my grandmother, and my father was 20 years older than my mother. It’s not like they were raised as brother and sister or anything. They didn’t even meet until my mother was 19 years old. And yes- I suffered the fate of the family tree meeting in the middle for an elementary school project. And the subsequent red-kneck jokes.
The most awkward part is when the Daughter’s Daughter had to make a family tree for school.
YES! my family is that way, and i got soooooo confused in the 1st grade when i had to make one. The saddest part about mine, is that my moms dad and my dads mom cheated on their spouses with each other!!!!
We have a similar situation in my family–my aunt and uncle introduced her mother to his father after they were married. They hit it off and got married, so my aunt and uncle are technically stepbrother and stepsister. To add another layer to the confusion, though, both my aunt and her mother have the same first name, and my uncle and his father have the same first name as well. All four lived in the same town–talk about confusing!
My head just exploded and my leg fell off.
touche
Sadly this happened to my bf’s family.twice.
no lie, his moms father dated is dad’s mom and then when my bfs mom got prego with him they moved to iowa where she started to date her husband (my bfs step dad) and his grandpa married his stepdads mom.
so…yeah
I thought it was confusing when my mother married my uncle (my Dad’s Brother-in-law) and all my cousins because step-siblings, and I live in Wisconsin, not the deep South!
Sounds just like my dad’s family. Here’s the story, as simply as possible: My dad’s parents got divorced. My dad’s brother fell in love with a girl, and got engaged. My dad’s father fell in love with the girl’s divorced mother. My dad’s father and the girl’s mother got married just months before their children’s wedding. My dad’s brother and the girl went ahead and got married anyway. So, technically, they were step-brother and sister when they got married. Yea, AWKWARD.
I always thought this was a unique situation, but, judging from the other comments here, it’s not as uncommon as it would seem.
Cue: “I’m My Own Grandpa”
my mom used to work with a woman that told everyone in the office how she had a daughter with her husband and a son with her father-in-law. so her son is his sister’s uncle. my mom didn’t know why she would want to tell people about that
Sounds familiar. There are dozens of such situations in my family tree. Making normal genealogy software deal with my family is a pain for both me and the software. Just to give you an idea:
I get my last name from my father, like most people. However I get the bloodline *ONLY* from my mother.
“However I get the bloodline *ONLY* from my mother.” I’m confused … ONLY from your mother? What did she do — spawn you? (Because if that’s possible, I totally want to do it to have my own kid …)
By bloodline I mean the bloodline associated with my surname, which normally would come from one’s father. Short explaination: My father is adopted, so while I get the surname from him, I get no associated bloodline/genes from him. On the other hand, my parents’ grandparents were siblings. So I get a diluted portion of the bloodline/genes associated with my surname through my mother, and only my mother.
(If you think that’s awkward, figure this one out: All the boys on my dad’s [adopted] mother’s side of the family were Feamales)
That’s too funny!
For a week I dated the son of my father’s soon-to-be-ex fiancee *Note: No blood relation
He’s his own cousin! Just like me!! My mom’s mom and my dad’s dad were married AFTER my parents got married…whenever I explain it to people, they ask me if it’s legal…the answer is yes.
I’m not from West Virginia, can I have a diagram please.
well in my town there is a family that switched husbands… and they are all 4 teachers
I’m sorry, what?
And I am my own Grandpa.
Well, at least you promised not to laugh.
This happened to my cousins. They were married, their parents met, and were also married. Not that weird..
wait a minute………….who’s on first again?
Wait. So technically, any of the people who got married may have been “step” but not blood related? No biggie. Well, I wouldn’t do it, but just sayin’…
How about the many families where a sibling marries one of their siblings ex’s, so then the kids are half half-cousins, half half-siblings? now that’s awkward. Happened in Michael Jackson’s family, too, I just read.
i have seen several cases of that in the small town where I grew up. I left that area!
That was really confusing.
My mom’s aunt married my dad’s oldest brother. They have a daugther Simone. I call her my cousaunt.
I seriously could have written this about my ex-husband. Exactly the same situation and always freaked me out.
Short Version: My Husband’s parents are also Step-Siblings. Awkward!
So what I want to know is, did you actually end up marrying him?
…sounds like a simple case of compound beaux.
Ahh, I see wat u did thar.
Thank God no one tried to play the game “Six Degrees Of Separation”. I’m no math genius, but I think six degrees would increase exponentially by the time the story was done being told. Damn!
Reading “The DaVinci Code” did not sufficiently prepare me to decipher this story.
And the Oscar goes to Kimberly for best achievement in ironic writing.
This response really made me laugh out loud.
These stories are lame. Unamusing. Please stick to photos.
Huh?
This happens all the time. My father and my uncle married sisters. My cousins are practically siblings to me!
yeah – they are called doouble first cousins. Genetically the same as siblings!
on my father’s side of the family, his parents were step brother and sister. each of the grand parents opposite parents died and the remaining great grand parents married. that made them step brother and sister. they were teenagers when it happened. and to confuse the family even more, the newly made couple had a son that was half brother to both of my grand parents.
don’t forget, it was 80 years ago in rural nowhere.
Terrible writing. You forget to laugh because you’re trying so hard to decipher it.
Thanks, my brain just exploded from the confusing faux awkwardness.
Actually… this has me really confused. I thought the dad died two days after he was born.. But they got a divorce? Someone please make this a little more clear for me.
The writing was far more awkward than the story itself.
If you don’t think this can happen you haven’t been around the block or experienced real life. This story pales to my life.
This sounds like a VC Andrews novel.
So wait…. who is bring the turnip casserole?
Obviously not Amy Misto!
In my family, my maternal great-grandfather and his widowed dad married sisters, making…one hell of a mess in our family tree!
(For instance, my maternal grandparents are also cousins b/c of this. Oh, and I’m named after the younger of the sisters, btw.)
widower, whatever
I may have gotten it wrong. My maternal grandparents have a shared set of nieces and nephews who they are both related separately. I don’t know. I told you it made a mess.
Not interesting enough to suffer through the convoluted writing style.
Basically, she’s saying this: His maternal grandmother married his paternal grandfather, making his mother and his father into step-siblings.
So didn’t he write just that???
It was so confusing it wasn’t even awkward (or funny).
Makes me think of Greg and Marcia Brady and the fact that Barry White went on a date with Florence Henderson. Yeah….(sigh)
I mean Barry Williams… Ha!!!! could you see Barry White and Florence Henderson on a date. HA Great visual. Can someone photo shop that for me?
LMAO I’m still laughing at that one…Barry White and Florence Henderson…LMAO
HAHAHA on all counts!
Barry White and Florence Henderson’s love child = Kanye.
Story of my life! And I am not even kidding!!!
Sentence fragments. Make it more. Confusing.
I need. A diagram.
Same…think anyone will make one?
Love how. Everyone on AFP. Is a grammar genius.
These stories are junk, and conjured out of thin air.
yah, I think it was photoshopped
HAHAHAHAH
LMAO
LOL!
sounds like a part of the old song Im my old grandpa?
Tight knit families?
Keep it in the family. HAHA. xD
And you could do better?
Obviously, you are not from Arkansaw!
HAHA!! Oh anon. You are so funny!! If I knew who you were I would try and hang out with you. HAHA!! You make my day. You’re the best person in the world ever!!
Sadly, stuff like this happens. My aunt (my dad’s sister) married a guy, My grandparents (my dad’s parents) got divorced a few years later. My grandpa met my aunt’s husband’s mother (a widower) and got married. Then my aunt and uncle got divorced. Granted, my grandparents we well into their 60′s when they got divorced, for awhile, my aunt’s mother-in-law was also her stepmom.
Wait a minute… What?!
Oh I beg to differ! I’ve seen/heard worse!
I know this type of thing sounds crazy, but my fiance has pretty much the same situation. His mom’s mom married his dad’s dad after his mom and dad were married and now they all live together in the same house. Seems a little creepy, but hey it’s not like they all grew up together.
The only extended family I have in within 800 miles is my cousin – who is my dad’s nephew and my mom’s second cousin. (My dad’s sister introduced him to her boyfriend/fiance/husband’s cousin at a party. They hit it off, and she bacame my mom.) Not so uncommon, I guess.
I just suffered a huge anxiety attack after reading that. Thanks a lot… Expect to be hearing from my lawyers soon. And you are also going to be required to pay for my medical bills (E.R. processing, EKG & CT Scan, plus meds). The CT scan was to ensure I wasn’t stroking.
Please remit payment to:
ME @ my address,
My current City, State 12345-6789
Thanks.
funniest reply i’ve read so far! LOL
LOL!