'Who Cares What Our Family Thinks?' Kissing Cousins Petition Utah For Right To Marry

The couple got hitched in Colorado, where marriage between first cousins is legal; now they want to change Utah's laws.

March 06, 2019

Michael Lee and Angie Lee/KTVX news video [screenshot]

By: Mike McPadden

EAGLE MOUNTAIN, UT — After coming out loud and proud about their love, a pair of first cousins drove from Utah to Colorado and got legally married. Now they want to change the laws in their home state so they can be recognized there as husband and wife.

Angie Lee and Michael Lee are first cousins. Their parents are siblings. Angie’s father is the oldest in a family of 12 children; Michael’s mother is number five in that brood.

The couple say they’ve been in love their entire lives, although they never let on about their feelings — until now.

Beaming groom Michael said his infatuation with cousin-wife Angie started when they were both in the second grade. He said, “I remember I stopped her mother and said, ‘I'm going to marry Angie.’ And she said, ‘No, I'm sorry, you can't, but you can be friends.”

Years of torment followed, with Michael saying, “This is something I've always felt — life was unfair. Why did the person I want to be with the most and had the most attraction to and the most natural feelings for…? Why did you have to be my cousin?”

After a recent separation of 10 years, the kissing cousins decided first to become a couple and, more recently, to get married. Hence the trek to Colorado, where marriage between first cousins is legal.

Talking to a reporter, Angie Lee said, “We said, ‘Okay, this is crazy but we're adults now, we're single now, we're just going to go for it, and who cares what our family thinks!"

In the Lees’ home state of Utah, such unions are against the law unless the cousins are over 65 or, if they can prove they’re incapable of having children, over 55. The potential for genetic disorders among the offspring of first cousins is notably higher than that of the children of non–blood relatives.

After the wedding, Angie and Michael returned to Utah, determined to fight to be recognized as spouses at home. Seeking public support through social media, the Lees have launched an online petition.

Michael told a local TV station, “As soon as we crossed over the state border, we're not married anymore… We would like to have enough exposure to where we can go into a congressman or senator — someone with political clout — and present a case sound enough to get the law changed.”

Turning to his blushing cousin-bride, Michael added, “No one I’ve ever been with will make me feel as perfect as she does. Her being my cousin and some of the responses is a small price to pay. I always loved you, Angie. You know that.”

Read more: KDVR, WECT

Next Up

California Couple Vindicated After Police Doubt Home Invasion, Kidnapping Survival Story

Cops determined Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn’s harrowing ordeal never actually occurred — until a suspect slipped up.

Husband Of Missing Mother Who Searched 'How To Get Away With Murder’ Pleads Guilty To Her Murder

55-year-old Elizabeth Capaldi was reported missing on Oct. 12, 2022. In April 2023, her husband pleaded guilty to strangling and dismembering her, and hiding her remains.

‘Girl In The Box’ Held Captive Under California Couple’s Bed For 7 Years

“There were many times I thought I was going to die,” Colleen Stan says of her terrifying ordeal.

Ohio Police Identify Suspect Who Brutally Stabbed New Mother Over 40 Times In 1980

“He was a thief, a coward, a liar and a murderer,” the husband of victim Nadine Madger recently said of the killer.

'Lady Of The Dunes' Cold Case Closed After Her Husband Was Named The Killer

Ruth Marie Terry, a murder victim who was known only as the “Lady of the Dunes” for nearly 50 years, was identified, and now her husband has been named as her killer.

Woman Discovers Grim Truth About Her Husband After Living As His ‘Prisoner’ For Years

“He took away my sense of being; he took my mind,” Terry Patzer recalls of her husband, Russell Tillis.

Nevada Man Killed 16-Year-Old Girl Who Called Him Her ‘Big Brother’

Britney Ujlaky had a “bright and promising future” before she “had her life stolen from her” by Bryce Dickey, a judge says.

Did A Couple Who Kept A Victim Captive For 7 Years Kill Missing Teen Marie Elizabeth Spannhake?

Janice Hooker said she and her husband, Cameron, kidnapped and tortured two women decades ago.

Woman Accused Of Incest Said She Competed With Sister For Sex With Dad: Cops

The father and daughter also reportedly got married after learning they were being investigated.

Husband Hired Homeless Drug Addict To Rape His Wife For $200

Russell Higgins told his wife to let the rape continue or it would be “very bad” for her, their children, and their grandchildren.