DNA tests have become popular gifts in recent years, given their widespread availability and relative inexpensive nature. It can be a fun way to learn more about your ancestors and heritage if it's something you know nothing about. But for one woman, she got a surprise she wasn't expecting.
A TikTok user named Matilda uploaded a video telling the story behind a DNA test she took that her boyfriend gifted her. She explains that she never knew her biological father and thought it might be a good idea to learn about her health info and "if there was anything to watch out for."
Her boyfriend figured it would be fun to take a test at the same time because they were on sale. And the rest is history.
“So we got the results back a month later and I was looking through the list of genetic relatives because the only person that I know that I'm technically related to is my mom.
"And I scrolled down and turned to my boyfriend at the time and said, 'hey this is pretty nifty, I'm related to someone with the same name as you.'
“And that’s how I found out I was dating my cousin.”
Following up with more details, Matilda says they had since broken up. The DNA results seemed to determine that the two were third cousins - meaning they most likely shared a set of great-great grandparents.
But Matilda says she did some more digging on her own and found out they might have been more closely related than that.
"Based on that info from that research as well as the percentage of DNA that my ex and I shared (that was a little too high to be third cousins), I'm actually pretty sure we're second cousins related through my paternal great-grandmother."