[OPEN] Partnered Sims turn into siblings

[EliBridge]

I've had the same issue (married couple turn into siblings) since last year, the problem here is I PLAY ON PS4. I checked the 12 forum pages before this one and I couldn't find anyone who played ps4 and fixed it. As far as I'm informed is not possible yet to use mods on The Sims 4 ps4 edition. Which leads to the conclussion I'm not using any mods and I don't even use cheats. This whole mess started when I used magic to clone my main sim and now she is "married" to her wife but also they're siblings. I also tried saving my family on the gallery so I could clone it all together and once I try to fix the relationships they can be turned back to married BUT then their children relationships get all messed up: one of their daughters turns into their niece, some of their other children turn into household members and I can't change it so that solution is a no-go. I don't know what else to do, please EA team help us! 

[BitterBubbly]

@EliBridge Thank you for chiming in and saying that it's also happening on console, where mods/CC CANNOT be used. People are quick to point to mods/CC as the culprit for issues that are, in fact, not mod/CC related at all, like this one, which happens on console AND PC regardless of whether or not mods are used or even CAN be used. This bug is truly terrible, and I'm sorry to hear it's happening to you, too.   

@madsimmer91  I can't speak to the comment about scientists because I don't have one in my game, but I can absolutely back up your comment that the issue seems to be aggravated by spellcasters being present in the household.

My legacy save centers around a family that includes several spellcasters (in addition to non-spellcasters), and the issue consistently happens with the spellcaster sims specifically. Non-spellcasters have yet to be affected in my save (aside from a heterosexual spellcaster and suddenly and inexplicably becoming his non-spellcaster father's romantic partner, which forced me to have to rebuild my save for the third of the four times I've had to rebuild it to date)...but even then, a spellcaster WAS involved, even if only one of the affected characters was a spellcaster.

...and I can confirm that it is NOT related to mods or CC. I've tested this extensively and have had it happen in modded and non-modded versions of my save. Mods/CC have nothing to do with this particular bug. It's a problem with the game itself that EA still has not fixed, despite players reporting the issue for literally years.

If anything, I've found that using certain mods at least delays the bug a bit, so I've gone back to using them again. In fact, this bug is what drove me to start using mods to begin with, in an attempt to prevent this disgusting problem from immediately destroying my game. I never used mods with TS2 or TS3, but have found them necessary in TS4 just to make the game at least somewhat playable and to have the ability to work around/override numerous OTHER game breaking bugs that have yet to be fixed. 

This one can't be worked around with mods, though, because this bug breaks the family tree. Best I've been able to do is find mods that will at least delay this bug's inevitable (and repeated) destruction of my multi-generational legacy save. 

I'm sorry to hear it's happening to you, too, because this one isn't just a game breaker, it's a game destroyer, particularly for legacy style players, and there's no way to fix it without rebuilding the save from scratch, which I can also confirm is ultimately pointless because it continues to happen again, and again, and again no matter what you do or how many times you recreate your save. 

Additional general comments:

For whatever reason, the game seems to firmly believe that any romantic relationship a spellcaster has MUST be with a parent or sibling, to the extent that it will alter the family tree to ensure that all romantic relationships for spellcasters ARE between siblings and/or parents/children. It's immensely upsetting (not to mention triggering, for some) and nothing about this "bug" is acceptable. Honestly, EA really SHOULD make it a priority to fix this one, as it's absolutely in the best interest of EA AND players to have this bug eliminated.

This may be a controversial statement, but I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway, because it needs to be said. Due to how sensitive/finicky some people can get about representation and things of the like, this could easily be viewed as being a pro-"inappropriate relationship" push (in a T rated game, no less, and I use the word "inappropriate" to avoid using the OTHER word that begins with "i")...

...OR it could be viewed as potentially being discriminatory against pagan religions through the implication that romantic relationships can only exist between siblings and/or parents and children in that particular subculture, since the game DOES consistently force a sibling and/or parent/child relationship attribute to any romantic relationship involving a spellcaster.

I don't mean to be "that person" or whatever...but there are people out there who might be inclined to interpret it that way and potentially take action against it, so it's a legitimate concern, and it had to be said, because there's a good chance that it's only a matter of time before something like that happens, which would be most unfortunate indeed as it relates to publicity and EA's reputation as a creator of T rated games. 

[FlakeJay]

First time posting in the forums so, apologies in advance.

In doing a little experimenting, the best I can figure out is that the game is trying to forcibly resolve "dotted-line" (step-children/step-parent) genealogical relationships when you enter CAS.

Very simple family tree:

Parent A (a Vampire) and Parent B (a Spellcaster) get married. Parent A has (non-occult) Son A from a previous marriage and brings him in to the household, making him a stepson to Parent B.

Parent A and Parent B have a child together, Daughter B.

Entering CAS at this point causes Parent A and Parent B to stay married, but in an attempt to justify the dotted-line relationship, Step-Parent B becomes "Uncle B" to Son A.

The game seems to have issues with the Stepchild/Stepparent relationship; I can't seem to encounter this issue with full blown children. Further, canceling out of CAS (instead of OK'ing your changes) seems to avoid the issue all together, which is why I'm thinking it's a bug with some sort of relationship reconciliation specifically when going into CAS.

I should note that I forcibly resolved the dotted-line relationship by making Son A a full-blown child of Parents A and B (making the son and daughter full siblings instead of stepsiblings). That also did not seem to fix the problem.

I hope this is helpful to someone working on this issue at EA. Sorry if this is...incomprehensible. I'm trying, I really am!

[FlakeJay]

Did a little further testing with a save prior to my Sim learning any magic but still having the spellcaster occult trait. I can confirm now that the trait doesn't matter. This issue doesn't crop up unless you enter CAS after your Sim is duplicated either by the spell Duplicato or the science career's cloning machine, but I wanted to confirm now that I'm able to reliably reproduce this issue only after learning and using the Duplicato spell.

I cannot get it to reproduce prior to that point.

My working theory is that, because the cloned Sim is always listed as a sibling to the caster, some flag is getting set or some value's getting duplicated that's causing the "sibling" flag to get reassigned to the casting Sim. I guess the fix is to revert my save back, but that's days of progress lost (or kill one of the parents...). Kind of a bummer, but it is what it is. 

I've also confirmed this doesn't seem to happen when the couple is opposite sex; it's only when they're a same-sex couple.

I'm also not using any CC or Mods (in fact I never have).

Hope that helps too! Good luck!

[midnightbot1]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:Xbox Series S
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.71.6.2300
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Awesome Animal Hats Digital Content, Bowling Nights Stuff, Cats & Dogs, City Living, Discover University, Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack, Fitness Stuff, Get Famous, Get To Work, Get Together, High School Years, Jungle Adventures, Life of the Party Digital Content, Parenthood, Romantic Garden Stuff, Seasons, Spooky Stuff, StrangerVille, Toddler Stuff, Up All Night Digital Content, Vampires, Werewolves, Vibing Streamer Gear Digital Content
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? I genuinely don’t know, I guess just have Sims be in a relationship.
What happens when the bug occurs? Sims who are in a romantic relationship, regardless of household, will randomly turn into biological siblings completely barring them from any romantic actions.
What do you expect to see? I’d expect my sims to not turn randomly turn into biological family creating incestuous relationships and offspring.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? On console - never used.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. Updated the game to the newest version

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I got a call from a Sim outside of my househould (Enzo) saying they found a ring in the bag of a Sim in my household (Lou) and they had asked if they should say yes. I told them to go for it, and the two Sims instantly became engaged. I swapped to Lou and opened the Sim Profile of Enzo and saw that not only were they engaged, it for some reason said they were brothers. I invited Enzo over to the lot, and checked to see if I could perform any Romantic Actions, and as you’d expect for family members there weren’t any (reminder, they were not family to begin with). I then swapped to a different Sim (Reyes) who is married to another Sim (Vasyl) who are both in the same household as Lou & also noticed that I couldn’t perform Romantic Actions between the two (R&V) and upon checking 

the Sim Profile of Reyes as Vasyl, they were apparently now brothers. I also checked Lou’s Sim Profile as Reyes because they used to be married but broke up & I was suspecting that it had to do with the Romantic Relationship bar & saw that he was also Reyes’ brother.

The first file attached is Reyes’ Sim Profile from the perspective of Vasyl. The second file attached is Reyes’ Genealogy where you can see that not only is he married to Vasyl, but due to the bug he is also now related. Lou also makes an appearance as a brother even though they’re exs.

[midnightbot1]

I’d like to add on to say that loading every previous save I have ever made doesn’t seem to have fixed the issue so pretty much every save of mine has been altered by whatever this bug/glitch is and has effectively ruined my game

[theLionessMD]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? Deutsch
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.96.365.1030
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? ALL except Star Wars- Journey to Batuu, Simtimates Collection, Everyday Clutter, Pastel Pop, First Fit Kit, Moonshine Chic, Carnaval Streetwear, Modern Menswear, Fashion Street, Throwback Fit and Incheon Arrivals
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Be an adult, have a clone which is your twin sister and get married. I don't know if the bug can be reproduced this way, but this is what happened to me.
What happens when the bug occurs? The bug is permanently there. Yesterday everything was normal, today the wife is displayed as "wife", "soulmate" and "sister". Also in the family tree. Romantic interactions are not possible. Begetting a science baby is also not possible.
What do you expect to see? Romantische Handlungen mit dem Ehepartner, kein "Schwester" im Sim-Profil bei "Ehepartner", korrekter Stammbaum
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Never used.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? No

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I put in a picture of the Sim-Profile

[G0ld3nG0dd3ss]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform: PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.96.365.1030
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Get to work, Snowy Escape, Growing Together, Outdoor Retreat, My Wedding Stories, Vampires, Eco Lifestyle, Island Living, Discover University, Highschool Years, Movie Hangout, Kitchen Stuff, Parenthood, Dine Out, City Living, Cats & Dogs, Spa Day, Tiny Living, Get Famous, Seasons, Cottage Living.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? I am unsure.
What happens when the bug occurs? I have a four sim household. Melinda Mai is a widowed woman with a son and a daughter. The son (Rodrigo) is a child, and the daughter (Ashley) is a toddler. The child was with the deceased partner and the toddler is the daughter of Melinda's current wife (Lucia). Rodrigo has developed a good relationship with Lucia. Lucia was only a Care Dependent and when I saw the 'adopt' option I wanted it to happen so that Rodrigo didn't feel left out. Lucia adopted him. (Awesome new feature btw Large smile ) My first problem is, when I viewed the family tree after the adoption, my game thinks that Melinda and Lucia are not only married, but they're apparently sisters, now. Obviously you could understand my shock when I realized. I tried to make sense of why it happened, but nothing adds up. I think this is a bug. Please let me know if this is happening to anybody else. My last problem is that Ashley is now a toddler and has been for a few days however, Lucia got a moodlet that made her happy because of her 'infant' laughing. I do not have an infant in my household; my youngest sim is a toddler. There were no infants around the home lot at the time either. This is very minor, but I just wanted to mention it while I stated my relationship issue.
What do you expect to see? My married sims to be in a marriage and not being siblings.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. I bought and installed Growing Together.

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I have a four sim household. Melinda Mai is a widowed woman with a son and a daughter. The son (Rodrigo) is a child, and the daughter (Ashley) is a toddler. 

The child was with the deceased partner and the toddler is the daughter of Melinda's current wife (Lucia).

Rodrigo has developed a good relationship with Lucia. Lucia was only a Care Dependent and when I saw the 'adopt' option I wanted it to happen so that Rodrigo didn't feel left out. Lucia adopted him. (Awesome new feature btw  ) My first problem is, when I viewed the family tree after the adoption, my game thinks that Melinda and Lucia are not only married, but they're apparently sisters, now. Obviously you could understand my shock when I realized. I tried to make sense of why it happened, but nothing adds up. I think this is a bug. Please let me know if this is happening to anybody else.

My last problem is that Ashley is now a toddler and has been for a few days however, Lucia got a moodlet that made her happy because of her 'infant' laughing. I do not have an infant in my household; my youngest sim is a toddler. There were no infants around the home lot at the time either. This is very minor, but I just wanted to mention it while I stated my relationship issue. 

[CM Edit: Formatting]

[toulousemoon]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.96.397.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Expansions - Growing together, high school years, cottage living, cats and dogs, seasons, city living, get to work, et famous, island living, discover university, get together, snowy escape and eco lifestyle. Game packs - were wolves, vampires, realm of magic, my wedding stories, dream home decorator, parenthood, dine out, spa day, outdoor retreat, stranger Ville and jungle adventure. Stuff packs - Nifty knitting, Moschino, tiny living, laundry day, vintage glamour, cool kitchen, backyard, my first pet, perfect patio, toddler, movie hang out, fitness, bowling night, romantic garden, spooky stuff, kids room stuff. Kits - Pastel pop, desert luxe, first fits, country kitchen, bust the dust, little campers and throwback fit.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Have a single parent with a child in game, the parent must have their own parents and siblings. Have that sim get married to someone. The new husband/wife then goes to adopt their partner's child with new adopt interaction. The glitch is that this made the second parent of the child be seen as a child of the original sim's parents and then also a sibling of their husband / wife. Then they can no longer be romantic but also the family tree is incorrect.
What happens when the bug occurs? I have a legacy where my sim has 6 siblings and both parents are alive. This sim had 2 babies through the new 'science baby'. Later that sim found love and got married to his husband - everything was fine. Then the new husband went to adopt my sim's children who are not biologically his and would have no relation otherwise. This glitch happened and it added the children's new parent to the same family tree as their original father. Making their dads 'brothers' which was never the case. It is very annoying and disturbing. I think it is doing this as the game is getting confused as to how the sim can be the parent of the child without being related to the other family members? I noticed this change when I tried to get the husband to be romantic with their partner and it didn't let me because the game had registered them as related.
What do you expect to see? I would expect that the adopt interaction would add a father or mother relationship to the child and in the family tree too whilst keeping the other sim's relationships the same. I also had a sim earlier in the game 'steal' a baby when my sim's then boyfriend 'adopted' his son. I had to fix that and didn't realise that the adopt interaction would delete the first parent's relationship with their child. My thoughts would be that it would add a second parent in this case instead of replace.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. This adopt interaction came with the latest update - growing together

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[ImpySmodge]

I've had a different, but similar (and even more disturbing) issue with my current game. I had a lone female Sim, who got pregnant by a male Sim, he proposed (autonomously) and he was moved in. He had an child daughter who was moved in with him.

The couple had all normal romance options, but guilt about cheating moodlet and confess about cheating options came up for the male sim when clicking on the female one. In his info his child daughter was listed as his fiancée and he had a milestone for getting engaged to her. I couldn't see him show as her fiancé or an engaged milestone for her.
When the adult couple had any romance actions in her presence, she got jealous.

I have BBB and Dine Out mods, but did not use CAS between the couple meeting and the bug appearing. I have never used a CAS cheat, my Sims are not spellcasters and have not been cloned.

Before trying any cheats in CAS, I found that "break up" was an option for him as a mean action with his daughter, so I have done this, and they both had the sad moodlet from breaking up/broken heart, but the whole thing was really dodgy and they now have a full red romance bar and it does ick me out a bit!!