Overview
- Ben Ford located his birth mother, Kim West, in 2013, and a 2014 in-person reunion quickly became a sexual relationship.
- Ford told his then-wife he could not be intimate with her unless he imagined she was his mother, then left the marriage and moved in with West in Michigan.
- The pair argue their relationship is not technically incest and describe it as genetic sexual attraction, a claim widely criticized by experts.
- Consensual incest between adults is a felony in Michigan carrying up to 15 years in prison and possible lifetime sex-offender registration, though no charges are reported.
- After intense media attention, the couple withdrew from public view but have stated intentions to marry and have children.