Monica Mares was just 16 when she gave birth to her son, Caleb, and a week later, she made the difficult decision to put him up for adoption so she could move forward with her life.

For the next two decades, mother and son had no contact until Caleb, at the age of 19, decided to find his birth mother on Facebook.

They exchanged messages over several weeks before deciding to meet in person around Christmas time.

After their face-to-face meeting, Monica confessed that she started having what she termed as “crazy” feelings towards her own son. Soon after, Caleb moved in with her and their relationship turned sexual within weeks.

Monica later recounted the moment she finally voiced her feelings to her son, reports <a href=”https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/mums-sick-confession-after-falling-36638707″ rel=”Follow” target=”_self”>the Mirror</a>.

She said to Caleb: “I’m sorry I don’t know how you are going to react to this. I’m your mum and you’re my son, but I’m falling in love with you.”

According to reports, Caleb confessed he reciprocated these feelings.

The pair began living as a couple in New Mexico. Although they initially tried to keep their relationship under wraps, neighbours soon grew suspicious.

Police were eventually called following reports of a nearby argument, during which they uncovered the nature of the relationship.

Both Monica and Caleb were arrested and charged under New Mexico law, where incest is considered a fourth-degree felony. The pair were released on bail but were prohibited from having any form of contact with each other.

Since her arrest, Monica reveals she has been subjected to death threats and ominous warnings about potential repercussions should she find herself jailed.

She is currently prohibited from seeing Caleb or any of her other children, yet she maintains that the sacrifice is worthwhile.

“If they lock me up for love then they lock me up,” she declared to journalists. “There is no way anybody could pull us apart, and I really do love him.”

Caleb, on his part, has stated that he never truly regarded Monica as his mother.

“I never had anyone cook me meals or give me anything,” he expressed. “I never got anything my entire life and she went out of her way to make me happy.”

He added their relationship didn’t feel inappropriate to him.

He explained: “It was more like going to a club and meeting a random person. It didn’t feel wrong, it felt normal.”

Specialists have cautioned that such relationships can entail significant power imbalances, particularly between a parent and a younger child.

However, Monica dismisses these concerns. She argues that if she had brought up Caleb herself, their relationship would “probably” never have materialised.

But now, she asserts, he is the love of her life.

“It felt like I met somebody new and fell in love with him,” she confessed.