Dear Queenie,
I’ve been divorced for several years now and I’ve been dating a man who is some kind of cousin to my ex-husband. The problem is that some of my ex-husband’s relatives do not approve because of the relationship. They seem to think it is adultery or incest or something.
I want to stay on good terms with them because they will be relatives in-law again if we get serious about each other, and even if we don’t I don’t want to cause problems in his family.
Queenie, what do you say?—Dating again
Dear Dating again,
Your relationship with this man is not incest because you are not related to him, not even as an in-law anymore. And it is not adultery because you are no longer married (assuming the relationship really started after you and your ex got divorced).
If your ex-husband does not have a problem with you dating his cousin, it would help if he would tell his disapproving relatives to back off. But they may not be able to forgive you for the failure of your first marriage, no matter whose fault it was.
Good luck!
