'I ruined my in-laws' day by informing them of their actual genetic heritage...'

"I ruined my in-laws' day by informing them of their actual genetic heritage..."

My in-laws have always leaned heavily on being half Italian. They have used it to dictate their love for certain foods, their tendency toward a particularly round body type, their personality (whatever that means), and their jokes/slurs towards each other.

My husband did a DNA test last year and found out that his "Italian" grandparents are actually a mix of different European groups, including German and Spanish, but virtually no Italian (0.7% I believe).

We thought it was hilarious that they have been wrong this whole time and had a fun conversation with his grandparents (who grew up with prejudice against the Portuguese while apparently being 8% Portuguese). Still, he didn't want to break the news to the rest of his family yet.

While eating at an Italian restaurant recently, the comment was made that they are obsessed with the place because it's just "in their blood." I rolled my eyes a bit. Then, my SIL called my BIL a, "[slur for Italian]", and I turned to my husband and asked if he's gotten around to telling them the truth yet. He chuckled nervously and told me I could break the news.

My BIL laughed, while my SIL looked at me like I spit in her mouth. My husband started explaining the rest of his results while she sat there in disbelief. Her friend piped up and said, "well, you never know, [husband] might not have any Italian, but that doesn't mean [SIL + BIL] don't. There's lots of variation between siblings."

Me, a biologist, had to explain that there may be some variation, but certainly not THAT much. Later on, BIL dropped another Italian slur in a joke, and I joked back with him, "remember? You can't say that anymore, you'll get canceled."

SIL responded, "I don't care what the test says, The [LastName]s will always be Italian." My husband, the hero, replied, "it's alright, she's Trans-Italian." We all cackled. SIL was not amused.

Here's what people had to say to OP:

greywar777 said:

People can lose their ever loving minds when their DNA shows their ancestry isn't what expected. I got my ex who went on and on about her Indian ancestry a DNA test. 0%. for real she lost her ever loving mind about it.

sensual_shakespeare said:

That's like me (a very, very white woman with all western European descent) saying I'm Italian bc my Italian neighbor and his family practically adopted me LMAO.

Scary-Alternative-11 said:

Lol! I heard similar growing up, but it was Irish. Did my DNA, and I don't have a lick of Irish in me! Not too far off, though. Mostly Scottish and Icelandic.

Chesterfieldraven said:

What is it with Americans and pretending they're Italian or Irish without ever going to those countries? It's constant.

[deleted] said:

Humans did not deserve to win in the battle of evolution. We are far too dumb to be the smartest things on the planet.

tommywommy99 said:

Had a similar situation. My dad’s parents swore they were both Irish. Took a DNA test and no Irish on either of his parents. German all the way. Too bad they’re gone now, would’ve loved to hit them with the info.