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A married man who was adopted at birth stunned his family, and subsequently the entire nation, when he chose to leave his wife and embark on a sexual relationship with his biological mother.

Kim West, now in her 50s, gave birth to her son Ben Ford whilst she was a 19-year-old student in California. Unable to care for him, she put the baby up for adoption a week later before returning to the UK.

Over three decades passed without any contact between them. However, in 2013, Ben, who was married and living in Colorado, decided to search for his biological parents, successfully locating Kim and writing her a letter.

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What began as letters and phone calls rapidly escalated, and by 2014 the mother and son arranged to meet face-to-face, a meeting that would alter everything.

Kim and Ben crossed a boundary most would deem unthinkable. They became sexually involved almost instantly.

Ben later confessed the encounters were so "mind-blowing" he ended up telling his then-wife, Victoria, that he could no longer be intimate with her unless he imagined she was his mother.

Kim said: "(Victoria) was welcoming, yet I couldn't warm to her. I felt a growing sense of competition and when Ben touched her I felt jealous.

"I became even more aware of the fact that she thought I was spending too much time with Ben. She would constantly call him when we were together.

"Eventually, he admitted she was giving him grief about spending time with me. 'She calls you mummy girlfriend' he said."

Within days of the affair starting, Ben came clean about everything. Shortly afterwards, he left his marriage and relocated to live with Kim in Michigan.

When their relationship became public knowledge, it sparked fury, particularly as consensual incest between adults constitutes a serious criminal offence under Michigan law.

If charged, the couple could have been sentenced to up to 15 years behind bars and required to register as sex offenders for life.

As scrutiny intensified, Kim and Ben decided to withdraw from public view.

Despite the fierce criticism, the pair maintained their relationship isn't technically incest.

They argue it represents something termed "Genetic Sexual Attraction", a disputed concept proposing that relatives meeting as adults for the first time may experience sexual attraction owing to absent bonding during infancy.

Kim dismissed the incest characterisation entirely, insisting they were "meant to be together". Ben stated he never viewed her as a mother, solely as a sexual partner.

The justification has faced widespread condemnation from experts, yet the couple remained defiant, even declaring their desire to wed and start a family together.