A woman who had a baby with her biological father said meeting him was “like finding a soul mate”. 

Genetic sexual attraction, or GSA, is a very rare phenomenon when a person develops a sexual attraction to a blood relative. 

In plain English, it is incest and a crime in Ireland and most other countries. 

One woman with personal experience of GSA is ‘Sophia Greenwood’, who has recently written a book about it called Forbidden Love. 

Growing up, Ms Greenwood always knew she was adopted but as an adult her family origins were something she came to think about “more and more”. 

“When I saw a baby being born, actually, it really hit me,” she recalled on Moncrieff.  

“Wow, I came out of someone else; what happened there? Where is she? Why did she give me away? 

“So, that's when I sort of started thinking about it a lot more.” 

Ms Greenwood got in touch with an adoption agency and was put in touch with her birth mother, who was “overjoyed” she had reached out to her. 

She was also given a phone number for her birth father, who was living in Australia. 

She phoned him up and their interactions felt different to those with her birth mother. 

“It was less intense, I suppose,” she recalled. 

“Perhaps because he's a guy and he wasn't so gushy. 

“He was just very thoughtful and measured and kind.” 

The first meeting

Her birth father flew in from Australia to meet her and she soon realised they had a connection. 

They spoke for hours and Ms Greenwood felt they were “very much on the same wavelength”. 

“It was very inspiring for me and it felt very easy,” she said. 

“My memories aren't super clear about exactly; but certainly the first night when I was just trying to sleep, I was very confused about how I was feeling around him.” 

They booked a holiday together and it was then, in her words, “the boundaries were crossed”. 

They decided she would visit him in Australia for a month. 

“By then, we were just feeling like we couldn't be apart,” she said. 

“I didn't have anyone to talk to about it and so, I came back and then started the visa application.” 

One year later, Ms Greenwood packed her bags and flew to Australia to resume the relationship. 

“Intellectually it was wrong, but emotionally it was far more confusing,” she said. 

“Because we met as strangers rather than as parent and child. 

“Looking back, I believe that reunion, trauma, attachment needs and the absence of that natural familial boundary that we all have all played a significant role in what was going on.” 

Despite knowing they were genetically related, Ms Greenwood recalls feeling that it “never felt incestuous”. 

“That's the weird thing; he never felt like a father, he didn't feel like a relative,” she said. 

“But he felt like the closest person that I've ever felt; I felt closer to him than I've ever felt with anyone, including my parents. 

“So, it was just like finding a soul mate.”

'Full of fear and worry'

Ultimately, they had a baby boy together and he has grown into a “beautifully healthy, tall, strong, happy man now”. 

In total, she stayed in Australia for about 15 months but eventually decided to return to Britain “because of the complexity of our situation”. 

“We were living this life as a couple, very happy, but we knew that it wouldn't be socially acceptable,” she said. 

“We told some friends and everyone was very understanding.

“We never had any judgment from people who knew us, but we knew, you know, intellectually that there were laws against incest.” 

The situation was far too “stressful” and felt “full of fear and worry”. 

Back in Britain, she initially did not tell her family but eventually confessed because the secret was too heavy. 

“My parents were very good, really,” she said. 

“They didn't really blame me - they blamed him. 

“This is why I felt I wanted to write the story, because I'm hoping to raise awareness, discussion and research about the power of what goes on after separation and reunion and that sort of thing.” 

However, that is not quite the end of the story, as Ms Greenwood’s father was prosecuted for incest. 

His ex-girlfriend reported him because, Ms Greenwood feels, she was “bitter” about them splitting up. 

He was given a one year suspended sentence and while Australian authorities considered charges against her, none were brought.