Woman Contemplated Divorce After Learning Her Husband Is Her Cousin. Now They’re Stronger Than Ever (Exclusive)
“It's just a part of our history now,” Celina Quinones tells PEOPLE, one year after her revelation on TikTok that she and her longtime husband are cousins
Courtesy of Celina Quinones
(L-R) Celina and Joseph QuinonesA Colorado woman says that her marriage to her husband has gotten stronger after they went viral last year for revealing they discovered they're cousins thanks to a DNA test.
"We're doing good,” Celina Quinones, a realtor, tells PEOPLE about life with her husband Joseph and their three children. “My husband and I made it to our 18th year of marriage. So that's been a blessing. We're just cherishing the moments...I feel like it's brought us together even more.”
Celina and Joseph married in July 2006 — and about 10 years later, Celina took a MyHeritage DNA test to learn more about her lineage.
“I searched the family tree DNA — another part of the search — and saw him [Joseph] pop up there,” Celina told PEOPLE last year. “And I go, 'Oh no.' "
In March 2023, Celina posted a clip on TikTok about the revelation, which blew up, getting over 4 million views. "Married my husband in 2006. Not thinking anything of it we had 3 kids," she captioned the post. "Come to find out we were related and cousins." (She previously told PEOPLE she wasn't sure to what degree they're related, with tests indicating they are between second to seventh cousins.)
Related: Woman Finds Biological Mom 50 Years After Being Placed for Adoption
Celina says she received many negative comments after making the post, including from social media users who wondered why she would reveal that.
“I thought it would be funny to put out there,” Celina tells PEOPLE. “I did not know that it would really turn into...and so that was a shock."
Still, despite some negativity, deleting the post never felt like an option. "I know I could," she says, "but this is my story and I'm going to stick to it."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Ahead of posting the TikTok clip, the couple told their children – two teenage sons and an 11-year-old daughter — about the results. Their response to the news? Nonchalance.
“My son goes, ‘Well, if we're brothers and sisters, that make us cousins too?' " Celina says with a laugh. "They're like, 'Hey, Mom, Dad, it don't matter. You guys have been married for so long. That's our family.' "
Although there's been no shortage of support from their loved ones, Celina admits that their friends and colleagues were taken aback when the couple was thrust into the spotlight.
"They were like, 'Oh my goodness, you guys are famous now. What happened?' " Celina says, "And I go, 'I don't know what happened. We put out a story and it came to life.' That's all I did."
Celina Quinones
(L-R) Celina and Jospeh QuinonesDespite some negativity from strangers, Celina explains that she's also gotten to hear some "amazing" stories.
"People DM me and say, 'Wow, I have a similar situation,' " she explains. "Or they bring up their other DNA issues where they met sisters or brothers."
"It's opened up a little Pandora's box," she adds.
Celina previously told PEOPLE last year that she felt depressed upon first learning of the DNA results, which led her to question her marriage to Joseph at one point. Today, their marriage has not only overcome that, but it also survived a flood that damaged their home last year and left the family temporarily displaced.
"I was like, 'Oh my goodness, this year is just so weird,' " she says. 'I call it the 'Flood of 2023.' But I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to see it as a positive thing.' So our house is fully remodeled now. We got new paint, new floors everywhere. I did some work around the house. I'm like, 'Hey, you know what? It's a blessing in disguise.' "
As for their brush with viral fame? It's "just a part of our history" now, she says.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
