I married my first cousin – trolls say it’s incest & slate our sex life, but we couldn’t keep our hands off each other

WHILE astir couples volition happily regale you with stories of however they archetypal met for Cheryl and David Hickman their emotion communicative is simply a small much complicated.

The hubby and woman spell backmost a agelong way, successful information they’ve known each different from commencement owed to the information they are archetypal cousins.

Cheryl and David Hickman, some 52, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, are archetypal cousins and their fathers are brothers. 

Despite cruel comments from trolls claiming they ‘belonged connected The Jeremy Kyle Show’ The couple, who joined successful 2016, enjoyed a steadfast sex life until recently. 

For the past 3 years, a nighttime of romance is the past happening connected Cheryl’s caput arsenic the mum-of-one suffers crippling symptom from endometriosis.

It's a illness wherever insubstantial grows extracurricular the uterus, which tin origin terrible discomfort successful the pelvis and sometimes infertility.

The information often leaves Cheryl incapable to get retired of furniture and successful excessively overmuch symptom for sex.

Now, Cheryl, who has been incapable to enactment for 8 months, is desperately awaiting a hysterectomy connected the NHS.

She says: “I’ve been warring for country for years.

“Once, David and I couldn’t support our hands of each other, but our enactment beingness amongst different things, has suffered owed to the pain.

“We’re hopeless to reconnect, physically and to get my wellness backmost connected track.”

After 16 years together, the mates assertion to inactive beryllium madly successful emotion and don’t attraction what nine thinks of their unorthodox relationship.

Cheryl says: “When I was younger I ne'er thought my aboriginal hubby would extremity up being my cousin.

“But you can’t assistance who you autumn successful emotion with.”

Growing up, Cheryl and David’s families were close, visiting each different erstwhile a period successful Wandsworth, London. 

Cheryl says: “While our parents nattered, David and I would play together.

“David loved to travel maine astir the location and yank my ponytail.

“Even though we were the aforesaid age, I ever referred to him arsenic my annoying small cousin.”

But erstwhile they were 14, David’s household moved distant from the country and Cheryl moved connected with her life.

Years later, successful 1994, Cheryl, past 22, discovered she was infertile and truthful successful 2001, Cheryl and her past spouse adopted a newborn girl, Caitlin, present 23.

The pursuing year, Cheryl got joined but they divorced six years later.

In 2009, conscionable a twelvemonth aft her divorce, Cheryl received a connection from David connected Facebook retired of the blue. 

She says: “I hadn't heard from him successful 22 years but that night, David and I messaged backmost and forth, catching up connected each other's lives.

“I discovered helium was divorced and had measurement children.

“I told him each astir Caitlin and my past marriage.”

After that night, the brace spoke each day.

The adjacent month, Cheryl invited David to Caitlin’s 8th day enactment successful London.

She says: “As helium walked in, I thought helium looked truly handsome. 

“It was astatine that infinitesimal that I realised I recovered my relative attractive.

“I tried to shingle it off, but I couldn’t assistance the mode I felt. 

“I told David helium looked fantastic and helium said it was truthful bully to spot me. 

“After the party, David pulled maine speech and told maine helium had feelings for me. 

“I was truthful excited, I admitted I fancied him too. 

“We ended up kissing. 

“I knew we were cousins, but my feelings took over, it didn’t consciousness wrong, it felt right.”

But the adjacent day, Cheryl’s worries began to drawback up with her. 

She says: “David and I were related by blood, truthful I stressed that I’d get into trouble.

“I rapidly did immoderate probe online and discovered first-cousin marriages were ineligible successful Britain.

“It wasn’t classed arsenic incest and I was truthful relieved. 

“After that, David and I decided to springiness our narration a go.”

Soon, David became a doting stepdad to Caitlin.

At first, acrophobic of their family’s reaction, Cheryl and David kept their narration a secret.

But 2 months later, they came clean. 

Cheryl says: “As David nary longer spoke to his family, helium didn’t request to archer them.

“So I confessed to mine.

“I told my parents that David and I had fallen successful love. 

“My mum told maine to halt being ridiculous, portion my dada was furious and said we needed to interruption up arsenic it was against the law. 

“I rapidly showed him a website that confirmed archetypal relative relationships were legal. 

“Then, helium calmed down. 

“After that, they inactive weren’t happy, but I understood they needed clip to get utilized to the idea.”

Six months later, their household yet accepted their union. 

But soon, net trolls began leaving cruel comments connected Cheryl and David’s Facebook.

Cheryl says: “They called our narration incestuous. 

“Others said that we belonged connected the Jeremy Kyle show. 

“I was furious.

“I said to David however could radical accidental specified gross things, we weren’t member and sister. 

“Thankfully, erstwhile we told our friends astir us, they were supportive.

“They were shocked astatine first, past it wasn’t mentioned again.”

Ignoring the haters, David projected to Cheryl successful December 2009.

In November 2016, the mates got hitched.

For years, they enjoyed a blissful marriage.

In the UK, determination is nary ineligible prohibition connected 2 cousins having a narration oregon getting married.

But successful 2022, Cheryl was diagnosed with endometriosis and began experiencing excruciating pain.

She is forced to instrumentality beardown painkillers which she claims, hardly help.

In the past 2 years, she underwent 2 ablation operations astatine The Lister Hospital successful London.

The process removes the lining of the uterus to dainty dense menstrual bleeding and alleviate chronic pelvic pain. Sadly, some surgeries failed.

Eventually, past year, she was forced to springiness up her occupation arsenic a transport rider assistant, taking a toll connected the couple’s relationship.

She says: “Not having the fiscal income we erstwhile did enactment unit connected our relationship.

“We couldn’t spell retired arsenic overmuch and -coupled with my wellness problems, it enactment a strain connected us.

“David hated seeing maine successful symptom and was helpless to marque it spell away.”

While Cheryl longs for a hysterectomy, galore hospitals refused to execute surgery, owed to Cheryl’s erstwhile 29st frame.

She says: “They were disquieted astir putting maine under.

“Yet, specialists encouraged maine to person bariatric surgery.

“As a celiac it wasn’t a bully idea, arsenic it meant getting the due nutrients I needed would beryllium harder.”

Instead, Cheryl decided to suffer value naturally, done information power and steadfast eating.

Ditching accelerated food, she began eating much vegetables and thin meats arsenic good arsenic taking up swimming doubly a week.

Within 2 years, she’d mislaid an unthinkable 5st. Now weighing successful astatine conscionable implicit 23st and is present connected the waiting database for a hysterectomy.

She says: “I can’t hold for my cognition truthful David and I tin get our emotion beingness backmost connected track.

“We haven’t taken a vacation since 2018, truthful we can’t hold to spell travelling unneurotic erstwhile I’m good enough.

“David’s been my stone passim and we’re inactive madly successful love.

“I don’t cognize what I’d bash without him.”