{"id":10936,"date":"2026-05-22T12:31:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetwistzone.com\/?p=10936"},"modified":"2026-05-22T12:31:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:31:55","slug":"grim-update-on-mom-and-son-who-fell-in-love-and-were-charged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetwistzone.com\/?p=10936","title":{"rendered":"Grim update on mom and son who \u201cfell in love\u201d and were charged"},"content":{"rendered":"

A decade after admitting they were in love, Monica Mares and her biological son Caleb Peterson are now reportedly living with the fallout of the incest scandal that turned their lives upside down.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Monica Mares was only 16 when she gave birth to Caleb Peterson in New Mexico, naming him Carlos before losing custody of him just two years later.<\/p>\n

After he was removed from her\u00a0care<\/a>, Mares revealed she had no idea where her son was or if she would ever see him again.<\/p>\n

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Almost 20 years later, in 2015, a Facebook message suddenly brought them back into each other\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

\u2018Mother hug\u2019<\/h2>\n

By then, Peterson was 19 years old and described by relatives as quiet, protective, and sensitive, while the\u00a0mother<\/a>\u00a0of nine, then 36, was struggling emotionally after years of abusive relationships and financial instability.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was almost love at first sight but first it was mother love. He gave me a mother hug,\u201d she told the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/a>\u00a0in 2016 of their reunion.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came home in the truck and came to live with me, and we were both happy as mother and son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their reconnection quickly intensified.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m falling in love with you\u2019<\/h2>\n

Late-night conversations turned into regular meetings, and before long, Mares admitted the\u00a0relationship<\/a>\u00a0no longer felt maternal.<\/p>\n

In a previous interview with the Daily Mail, Mares recalled finally confessing feelings she said had become impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I don\u2019t know how you are going to react to this. I\u2019m your mom and you\u2019re my son, but I\u2019m falling in love with you,\u201d Mares recalled telling Peterson.<\/p>\n

According to Mares, Peterson also confessed his feelings, telling her: \u201cYou know what I am too. I was scared to let you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about it and we took off to the park. I said, \u2018Would you ever date your mom?\u2019 And he said: \u2018would you ever date your son?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Honest truth yes I would.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It was crazy\u2019<\/h2>\n

The relationship soon became physical, something relatives later said left the family horrified.<\/p>\n

Mares\u2019 mother, Sadie Baker, said she repeatedly warned her daughter the situation would destroy both of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told her it was crazy. I told her don\u2019t do this. But they went ahead,\u201d Baker said in a May 2026 interview with the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Baker said she eventually refused to even allow Peterson into her home because she could not accept the relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him it was not right,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For more than a year, Mares and Peterson reportedly kept the relationship hidden from much of the public until suspicions from neighbors eventually led to a police investigation.<\/p>\n

Charged with incest<\/h2>\n

In 2017, after the relationship came to light, the two were charged with incest, a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico \u2013 incest is in fact a criminalized offense in 48 states.<\/p>\n

Instead of prison time, the mom and son, who pleaded no contest, received three years\u2019 probation, along with a court order banning them from contacting each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the love of my life, and I don\u2019t want to lose him,\u201d Mares insisted at the time. \u201cMy kids love him; my whole family does. Nothing can come between us, not courts, or jail, nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the two did split the same year, with Mares marrying another man in 2018.<\/p>\n

Current struggles<\/h2>\n

Years later, the lives of both Mares and Peterson reportedly look dramatically different from the people who once defended their relationship in interviews.<\/p>\n

Peterson has reportedly spent years moving in and out of legal trouble involving probation violations, traffic offenses, and additional arrests. Reports say he was arrested again in early 2026 on charges connected to trespassing and criminal mischief.<\/p>\n

Mares, meanwhile, has reportedly struggled with homelessness, substance abuse, and worsening mental health problems.<\/p>\n

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