incest mum: “My son and I tried for a baby – then he left me for a younger woman”
Forced to give up her baby as a teen mum, Julie Harvey was overjoyed when they were reunited 27 years later – but she admits she was sexually attracted to him…
When Julie Harvey was reunited with her son, Jeff Anderson, in 2011, she expected to feel a rush of maternal love. Instead, the pair discovered they had a strong sexual attraction and shockingly embarked on a relationship.
The mum and son were together for five years and eventried for a baby, before 33-yearold Jeff left her for a 25-year-old woman last May.
Import business owner Julie, 48, from New York, says: “I was stunned when I realised Jeff had left me. I know people won’t understand our relationship, but we couldn’t help our feelings.
“I can’t forgive Jeff for leaving me, though, I’m heartbroken.”
Julie gave birth to Jeff aged 15, but her parents made her give up her baby for adoption.
She says: “I was in a relationship with the father, who was 18, but he left me when I fell pregnant. It was tough.”
Julie left her hometown of Houston for New York two years later. She got engaged twice, but the relationships didn’t work out and she was haunted by giving up her son. But despite her efforts to track him down, she couldn’t find him.
Meanwhile, Jeff was living in Las Vegas with his adoptive parents. In his mid-20s he became curious about who his real parents were and used a private detective to find Julie.
THRILL OF ATTRACTION
Julie recalls: “In 2011 Jeff turned up on my doorstep and I instantly knew he was my son. “He had the same dark hair as me and similar shaped eyes. We hugged and I was shocked to feel a thrill of attraction – but I felt guilty as I knew that was wrong. “Jeff [an office administrator] was 27 and I was 42, but we chatted away easily about his life. He told me he’d been engaged once but called it off, and had sadly lost his adoptive mum to cancer in 2008 and his dad to a heart attack a year later. “We were so glad we’d found each other.” Julie and Jeff spent a week getting to know each other then, a month later, Julie flew to Jeff’s home in Las Vegas and the pair grew closer. Julie recalls: “We went
for a night out and got a bit tipsy. When we walked in through the door, Jeff kissed me.
“I was shocked and knew I should have been disgusted, but I kissed him back.”
Worried by their feelings, the following day Jeff and Julie went to see a therapist.
Julie explains: “He told us about Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA). He explained that people are naturally attracted to those who look like them, but warned GSA is illegal.
“Even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn’t fight my feelings for Jeff and, that night, we made love. The sex was amazing. I knew I should’ve felt disgusted but I realised I was in love with him – and he felt the same.”
Julie asked Jeff to move in with her just three weeks later. She recalls: “We’d make love up to five times a week. When I told my friends, they were horrified.”
BABY HOPES
In May 2012, Julie tracked down Jeff’s father, Henry, who was in a retirement home, as Jeff wanted to meet him. After being initially horrified by the couple’s relationship, he eventually accepted it.
Shockingly, six months on, the couple started trying for a baby.
Julie explains: “We were worried about the health complications, but we did some research and found other GSA couples who’d managed to have healthy children.
“At 45, I was still having periods, but I took fertility drug Clomid – which I bought on the internet – to increase my chances of conceiving.”
Julie fell pregnant in October 2012, but they lost the baby eight weeks into the pregnancy. She then miscarried again, two years later, while five months pregnant.
It was then that the romance began to crumble. Julie explains: “I think the miscarriage made Jeff look at me as an ‘old lady’ and we started drifting apart.”
In May last year, Julie was dealt another blow when she came home to find a letter from Jeff saying he’d moved out and wanted to break up.
HEARTBROKEN
She recalls: “He said he’d realised our relationship was wrong. He said he’d met a new partner, aged 25, online. He cut all contact with me – I was heartbroken.”
Now Julie is struggling to move on. She adds: “He made me feel special. I hope in time I’ll find happiness, but I know Jeff will always be the love of my life.”
Jeff says: “My relationship with Julie was wrong. I’m now happy and in love.”
‘I knew it was wrong but I couldn’t fight my feelings’