A married man who was adopted at birth has left his wife to begin a sexual relationship with his biological mother, after tracking her down three decades later. Kim West gave birth to Ben in California when she was 19, but placed him for adoption after a week and returned to the UK. They had no contact for more than 30 years.
In 2013, Ben, then living in Colorado and married, decided to search for his birth parents. He sent Kim a letter, and their cautious emails and phone calls quickly deepened. By 2014, they arranged to meet face to face. According to both, the connection was instant and intense, and within days the relationship became sexual.
Ben later told his wife Victoria that he could no longer be intimate with her unless he imagined she was his mother. Kim described the household atmosphere as strained, saying Victoria was polite but distant, and that jealousy surfaced. She claimed Victoria became increasingly uncomfortable with the time Ben spent with his biological mother.
Just days after the affair began, Ben confessed everything to his wife. He soon walked out of the marriage and moved in with Kim in Michigan. Their relationship is technically illegal under Michigan law, where consensual incest between adults is a serious criminal offence carrying potential prison time and mandatory sex offender registration.
The pair reject the label of incest, instead describing their bond as 'Genetic Sexual Attraction', a controversial theory not accepted by most psychologists that suggests close relatives meeting for the first time as adults may experience intense attraction due to missed early-life bonding.
