Woman defends relationship after marrying her stepbrother

A woman has defended her relationship after marrying her stepbrother. You can see more about their journey below:

Matilda Eriksson, 23, from Finland, says she never even considered getting married - that was until she met her stepbrother Samuli, 27.

Samuli and Matilda became stepsiblings after her mum and his dad married in 2019.

The pair met at Matilda's mum's 50th birthday party - and it was an instant attraction.

“I responded right away with passion,” Matilda told Yahoo News.

“It took us two weeks to start dating after that and he basically moved in with me right away. It felt good and natural immediately.”

Although the couple had support from their family, their friends were rather hesitant about their relationship, and Matilda explained that she began to 'feel weird' a few days in.

"I was confused and in love at the same time and honestly I really didn't know what to do. Thinking about the fact that he still is my step-brother and also I thought about other people's opinions," she said.

"Some of our friends were first a bit doubtful and [were] kind of judging. I think it was because of the confusion that someone I had been calling step-brother has to now be called my boyfriend."

Their parents on the other hand were 'very happy' with Matilda even believing Samuli's dad may have even 'hoped' they would hit it off romantically.

In fact, it was Matilda's mum who helped her make the decision to give the relationship a go, despite her friends' judgement.

"She told me to do whatever I felt was the most right in that moment, putting everything else aside and to follow my heart, and that led me to marry Samuli," she continued. "We both have been in a few long relationships before but never felt like this with anyone."

Hoping to take their relationship to the next level, the pair soon began looking into whether they would be legally allowed to marry in Finland, considering they are also step siblings.

After discussing their situation with a close friend who is also a law student, the pair realised they would have no problem tying the knot, and were married in July this year.

"We even proposed to each other at the same time and cried," said Matilda, adding that their friends soon realised they were "100 per cent match made in heaven."

You can follow Matilda and Samuli's story over on her TikTok.