Alabama woman who married her stepbrother and has 2 kids shares their crazy love story
“It happens more than people would think! Glad I’m not alone!”
Lindsay and Caleb have an interesting history together.
In a story that would make a fantastic, albeit long, country song, Lindsay Brown and her husband Cade of Alabama have found love even though they are stepsiblings who were once banned from seeing each other by their parents.
Lindsay shared the dramatic saga on TikTok, where she has nearly 3,000 followers.
It all began in 2007 when Linday was 14 and Cade was 16, and the couple would secretly meet at her house. However, on the fourth night they were together, Lindsay’s mother walked in on them and Cade had to run out of the house in his birthday suit.
"He grabbed his keys, his phone, he did not grab his clothes,” Lindsay said in a TikTok post. “He ran through the yard, up the street to his truck naked. Then he drove home and snuck in his house naked and his parents never knew any of that happened."
After the incident, Lindsay’s mom reached out to Cade’s parents, who agreed the two shouldn’t see each other. The teens didn’t have a big problem with the ban, mainly because Cade had a girlfriend at the time.
@girl_meets_bro Timing is everything! #lovestory #foryoupage #marriage #hubby #real #truestory
Six years later, Lindsay was driving to a baseball game in Atlanta with her boyfriend and received a direct message on Facebook from Cade. The two began talking, and a week or two later, she went to see him and left her boyfriend.
This development didn’t go over well with Lindsay’s mom because Cade had a “troubled” life after high school, and she didn’t want her involved in the chaos. But that didn’t stop the two from spending time together. Eventually, Lindsay’s mom drove up to Cade’s father’s house, where the two stayed, to talk some sense into her.
The mother and Cade’s dad, Rusty, were both single and began talking “for a long time.”
Soon enough, Cade got into trouble and was incarcerated for a year. Wanting to start a new life, Lindsay joined the Air Force in Texas, but that didn't keep them apart for long. Lindsay began visiting Cade in prison and the two rekindled their love. At the same time, their parents started dating, and things were getting “hot and heavy” between them.
@girl_meets_bro Replying to @toddbrayfield415 #marriage #trending #viral #foryoupage #momsoftiktok #couplegoals #girlsbelike
When Cade got out in 2014, the couple moved in together, and after a few weeks, they "went up the road to the courthouse" and got married. Cade says it was out of "boredom." A little more than a year later, their parents also married, making Cade and Linday stepsiblings.
For the most part, things have gone well for the couple and their parents. "Our family has just blended real well, we're all happy,” Lindsay said. “They never would have got married if it wasn't for us."
After sharing their story, Lindsay learned that this type of family arrangement is more common than most people think. “It happened to my brother and his wife! They got married, and then our dad married her mom like 5 years later. best sister in law/step sister ever,” Spirit Hager wrote. “I know someone who married a guy she was with for years then years later his dad and her mom married, so same situation,” Skiddermama_748h added.
@girl_meets_bro Grand Finale! #momsoftiktok #couplegoals #storytime
"Now your fishes will be warmed."
"To have one’s eyes lined with ham."
"To lay your head in water."
"Repetition teaches the donkey."
"I only understand train station."
"To speak directly from the liver."
"Horse horse, tiger tiger."
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Medusa image of giant squid in Gulf of Mexico off of Mississippi Gulf CoastPhoto credit: 
Sign warning against feeding alligators next to alligator in Mississippi marshlandsCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
Mississippi Gulf Coast beach in BiloxiCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
2009 photo of giant squid caught in Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi GulfPhoto credit: 
Thank goodness this story has a happy ending.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."