WHEN it comes to finding love we all know it’s important to have things in common.
But in Celina Quinones case she had more in common with her husband than she first thought.
After saying ‘I do’ to husband Joe in 2005 the pair did an at home DNA test and discovered they were related.
Despite the shocking revelation the couple remain happily married, raising their three kids.
Now Celina is sharing her story with Fabulous as part of our new series My Life’s a Soap in which we talk to people whose lives could be plotlines in your favourite shows.
Celina and Joe’s relationship started out like any other typical love story when they were introduced at a friend’s party.
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She said: “I noticed a handsome stranger across the room.
“I knew his name was Joseph and he was the brother of my best friend’s boyfriend.
“My friend introduced us and we got chatting, by the time we left we had arranged a date.”
While the pair had hit off initially, life got in the way and eventually they lost touch.
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However, two years later her best friend surprised her by organising a double date with Celina, then 20, and Joe, 26.
“We were having a blast at a bowling alley,” Celina said. “Mid-game, Joe, turned to me and asked if I would kiss him if he got a strike so I agreed.
“Lo and behold, he knocked all the pins down on his next go.
“We leant in for our first kiss and I fell for him instantly.”
The pair became a couple and many were quick to remark on how similar they were.
“Friends would jokingly ask if we were sure we weren’t related," she said.
“I just took our physical similarities as another sign that Joe and I were soul mates.
“And it seems that I was right as three months later, he took me to the park near my childhood home.
We were two peas in a pod and people even told us we looked alike
“Suddenly, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
“Of course I agreed, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
“He later told me he’d asked my dad for my hand in marriage first which meant a lot to me.”
Eager to get their married life underway the couple had their wedding just a few months later.
In the years that followed they welcomed three children; two boys followed by a girl.
But while Celina remained blissfully happy with her family she longed to know more about her and Joe’s Native American heritage.
“One day, I decided to look into it because I’d been putting it off too long,” she said.
“I found a bundle deal for two types of DNA tests in one.
“When they arrived, I swabbed the inside of my cheek, following the instructions.
"I posted it back and in the meantime, I created an online account so I could access my results.
Horror revelation from DNA results
Two months later Celina’s DNA test results came back.
“I excitedly logged in and I couldn’t believe how many distant cousins I had,” she said.
“Because they didn’t all have my surname, I decided to narrow the search down.
“I typed in my surname, Quinones, and pressed enter.
“Then I spotted a name that stopped me in my tracks – it was Joseph Quinones.
“I felt the blood drain from my face. My husband is my cousin, I realised in horror.”
Celina rushed to show Joe the results and initially he refused to believe what he was seeing.
“He didn’t want to believe it and went into denial,” Celina said. “I didn’t blame him, because I was finding it hard to accept too.
“After some digging, I found out we were either third, fourth or fifth cousins.
“We were connected through the paternal side of my family.
“No wonder we looked alike.”
Celina admits that the results of the DNA test had an impact on their relationship.
“As the days went on, I found it hard to look at Joe the same way,” she admits. “It broke my heart, because he was still the love of my life.
“We’d been married for 10 years, but now I wondered whether we had to break up as I wondered whether it was wrong for us to be together.
“Soon, it all became too much and I was diagnosed with depression.”
Worry for children's health
Celina was concerned not only about her romantic relationship with Joe but about her children’s future.
She explains: “Because of our shared DNA, I started to worry that our kids would have health issues.
“I took them to the GP to be checked over who explained that they had no underlying health conditions.
“It was a weight off my mind, but I worried how I would explain it to them.
“They were four, seven and eight so I decided to wait until they were older.”
While Celina could put off telling her kids, she had to tell her parents.
“As we weren’t first cousins my mum wasn’t concerned,” Celina says.
“But my dad refused to believe it and insisted on doing a DNA test himself.
“Sure enough Joe was on his family tree too.
“I also told my best friend, who found the funny side, but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone else.
“It felt like a dirty secret and I was petrified of what people would say.”
But ignoring the issue continued to take its toll on the couple.
Considering divorce
“Joe and I tried to act like everything was normal, we rarely even mentioned it,” Celina says.
“We weren’t being as affectionate with each other and I knew it was because we were battling confusion over our relationship.
“Joe was trying to sweep it all under the rug, but I was constantly worried.
“He flat-out refused to even consider divorce, it wasn’t what either of us wanted so we carried on living as normally as we could, but it was always on my mind.
“Two years later, I got chatting to Joe about a cousin of mine. He pointed out that he was his cousin too.
“Finally, he accepted that we were related.
“From then on, we started to come to terms with it and we agreed that if we loved each other why should we end our marriage.”
Celina admits that it took them a long time but eventually they got back on track with their relationship.
“With a lot of communication and understanding, we worked through it,” she said.
“Eventually, we saw the funny side – we’d never be rid of each other even if we did break up because we were family anyway!
“When our sons were 10 and 11, I sat them down to explain everything.
“Our daughter was only seven, so I decided not to tell her yet.
“I tried to explain as best I could.
“I knew the most important thing was that they could see how much their parents loved each other.”
After sharing her news with her kids, Celina decided she wanted to be public about their relationship.
“Eventually, I was tired of being embarrassed and ashamed, instead, I focused on the positives of our relationship,” she says.
“One day, I took the plunge and revealed our secret to the world by posting a video on TikTok.
“I received lots of messages of support. Of course, we got a few nasty comments, but we chose to ignore them.
“I’m still trying to find out how exactly Joe and I are related, because our family tree is complicated.
“From all the DNA sites I’ve scoured, my guess is we share a great, great grandparent.
“Even though we both still struggle to wrap our heads around it, our love for each other is unbreakable.
“I recently told my daughter everything when she turned 10.
“She and the boys have been so understanding.
“They have a loving, stable home and we’re not going to let a test result ruin that.
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“In a way, I think our shared DNA proves that Joe and I were meant to be together.”
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