Emily Dickinson once said, “The heart wants what it wants, or else it does not care.”
So what happens when what the heart wants is generally considered taboo? Many may raise an eyebrow to the idea of marrying their cousin, but the practice was long considered commonplace for those entrenched in communities over the course of several generations.
Between 1650 and 1850, the average married couple was fourth cousins, meaning they shared the same great-great-great grandparents, research shows. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, were fifth cousins once removed, while notable figures Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin married their own first cousins.
Though it is less common now, marriage of some form between first cousins is legal in many of America's 50 states. Think you know where your state falls on such laws? Click through to find out!
