A man who was adopted at birth shocked his family and the nation by leaving his wife to engage in a sexual relationship with his biological mother. Kim West, now in her 50s, gave birth to Ben Ford when she was a 19-year-old student in California. She placed him for adoption a week later before returning to the UK. Over 30 years passed without contact until Ben, married and living in Colorado, sought out his biological parents in 2013 and found Kim.
Initially exchanging letters and calls, their interaction intensified, leading to a face-to-face meeting in 2014 that changed their lives. Crossing a societal taboo, Kim and Ben became sexually involved almost immediately. Ben later confessed to his wife, Victoria, that he could only be intimate with her by imagining she was his mother due to the “mind-blowing” encounters.
Kim expressed feeling jealousy and competition towards Victoria, who was welcoming but did not warm up to her. Ben eventually moved in with Kim in Michigan after admitting the affair to his wife. The relationship sparked outrage due to the criminality of consensual incest under Michigan law, potentially resulting in prison time and sex offender registration for the pair.
To avoid public scrutiny, Kim and Ben retreated from the spotlight. They defended their relationship as not technically incest but rather “Genetic Sexual Attraction,” a concept suggesting relatives meeting later in life might experience attraction due to missed bonding in infancy. Despite criticism from experts, Kim and Ben maintained their desire to marry and have children, emphasizing that they saw each other as partners, not parent and child.