Two first cousins who fell in love as five-year-olds travelled hundreds of miles from Utah to Colorado to wed.
Michael and Angie Lee trekked from their native Eagle Mountain, Utah, to Colorado on Monday to walk down the aisle, as their home state only allows cousins over the age of 65 or infertile to marry.
The rules were (understandably) put in place to prevent close relatives from having children, as the offspring of two cousins are more than twice as likely to be being disabled due to their 12.5% share in DNA.
Still, this hasn’t put off Michael and Angie, who got together last year after a decade apart.
The pair say they are no longer concerned about their family’s approval, and are petitioning to change Utah’s “antiquated” laws.
Speaking to ABC4, Angie said: “We said OK this is crazy but we’re adults now, we’re single now, we’re just going to go for it and who cares what our family thinks.”
Michael also shared how he first fell in love with Angie when the pair were children, explaining: “We were second grade.
“I remembered I stopped her mother and said ‘I’m going to marry Angie.’
“She said, ‘No, sorry you can’t, you can be friends.’
“I’ve always felt that life wasn’t fair. Why did the person I wanted to be with most, and who I had the most attraction to the most, the most natural feelings for, why’d you have to be my cousin?’
“No one I’ve ever been with will make me feel as perfect as she does. Her being my cousin and some of the responses is a small price to pay.”
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