Reactions As Video Of Marriage Between 18yrs Old Girl And Her Cousin Resurfaces

A teenager revealed how she married her cousin in a huge ceremony in a resurfaced clip and this has sparked outrage from social media users.

Chantelle Kielly, 18, who lives in Rathkeale, married her first cousin Jim on an episode of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding show on Channel 4.

Chantelle wore a dress designed by traveler favorite; Thelma Madine which was adorned with no less than 20,000 crystals. The groom whose face was censored went all out by adding 73 best men to his wedding party, while the bride had at least seven bridesmaids.

Despite the bride’s enthusiasm for the big day, many social media users have been left horrified by the clip, with one writing:

‘Marrying your first cousin really needs to be made a criminal offense. I feel really sorry for their children.’

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings was a massive rating hit with millions tuning in to see a light shone on one of Britain’s most deprived groups, with the series ending in 2014.

For Chantelle and Jim, the bride’s family was able to secure the engagement by paying his family a dowry, which can range from €50k to €120k.

The couple celebrated their nuptials with a huge party to which the whole town was invited, with the groom saying his number of best men was ‘average.’

At the reception, the couple were joined by guests on the dance floor before they celebrated by cutting into a bespoke Barbie cake

Is it legal to marry your cousin?

It may be controversial but it is legal to marry your cousin in the UK.

Relationships described as ‘consanguineous’ are those between couples who are at least second cousins ​​or more closely related. The practice has been legal in Britain for more than 400 years but is considered one of society’s last taboos.

In British Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, marriage between cousins ​​is designed to strengthen the family and keep wealth intact.

A growing tradition in British Pakistani culture – 55 percent of youngsters are marrying their first cousins. Figures suggest that 42 percent of all marriages end in divorce, but in first-cousin marriages, it is 20 percent.

Traditionally, traveling families spend ten months on the road before returning home each December for the wedding season. The winter months can see as many as ten ceremonies each week take place between those in the community.

It is also commonplace in traveler communities. But there are massive health risks involved for the children of such couples.

And when they are tragically born with disabilities, it is taxpayers who are left to pick up the huge costs of their NHS treatment, which can run into millions over a lifetime.

Britain’s first Asian peer Baroness Shreela Flather has made calls in the past for British Pakistani communities to ensure cousins ​​have DNA tests before getting married.

A former barrister who sits in the House of Lords, she shared her thoughts on the topic in 2015.

‘There are a lot of first-cousin marriages in certain communities, particularly among Pakistanis who come from the Pakistani Kashmir area.

‘We know so much about DNA now, but there is so much disability among the children, which is absolutely appalling.’

Baroness Flather also blasted parents for ‘allowing children to become disabled’ because of their social practice which she believes doesn’t belong in today’s social age.

She added: ‘There should at least be some rule which says that you must have a DNA examination before your marriage can be registered.’

Reflecting on the wedding Thelma, the Liverpool seamstress who sews frothy fantasy into wedding day reality for the traveler brides, said: ‘The dress looked beautiful, she really does.

‘They are really nice people, the girls are very respectable. We always say the Irish travelers are like going back 50 years but the Rathkeale girls are like going back 100 years.

‘They’re all family and I think that’s how they keep the wealth in Rathkeale because they just don’t let it go out.’

Speaking at the reception, Chantelle said: ‘I want to thank my mother and father for giving me this big day, my sisters and all the people enjoying this wedding.’

However, despite the couple’s joy over the wedding, many of those watching were left horrified by the clip. One social media user commented on Facebook: ‘Marrying your first cousin should definitely be illegal.

‘I have watched documentaries on how old European nobility ended up with tons of genetic defects due to marrying first cousins.

‘Definitely too closely related.’

Meanwhile, another wrote: ‘Keep it in the family!’

A third added: ‘Wow England, wake up. This is bad. The fourth cousin is okay, but not the first! I thought England and Ireland are better at genetics.’

‘So their parents are siblings,’ another wrote. ‘Jeez!’

Big Fat Gypsy Wedding revealed the eye-popping, extravagant nuptials that appear to be the norm today among young traveler couples.

It proved an unlikely hit for Channel 4, pulling in the channel’s highest ratings since the glory days of Big Brother back in 2008.

The series came to an end in 2014.