Blended family tree
Most family tree templates assume one marriage per person and children who all share both parents. Real families often don't work like that. Here's an example blended family with two divorces, a second marriage on each side, a stepdaughter and a set of half-siblings. Below it are the plain sentences we wrote to draw it, so you can do the same for your own family.
Meet the family
Sarah sits in the middle of the tree, with her parents, John and Margaret, above her.
- Sarah married Tom in 2008. They had Mia and Leo, and divorced in 2016.
- David and Lauren never married, but they had a son, Jayden, before they split up in 2014.
- Sarah and David married in 2019 and had Ruby.
- Tom married Priya in 2018. Priya already had a daughter, Anya, and then she and Tom had Arjun.
So Mia and Leo have a mum, a dad, a stepdad and a stepmum. They have a half-sister in Ruby, a half-brother in Arjun, and two stepsiblings, Jayden and Anya, who aren't related to them by blood at all. A tree is much easier to follow than that sentence.
How it's written
You don't draw the lines yourself. You write the family down, and the tree works out the rest. These are the sentences behind the example:
Sarah married Tom Hughes in 2008.
They had two children, Mia Hughes and Leo Hughes.
Sarah and Tom divorced in 2016.
David Okafor and Lauren Price had a son called Jayden Okafor.
David and Lauren separated in 2014.
Sarah married David in 2019. They had a daughter called Ruby Okafor.
Tom married Priya Shah in 2018.
Priya has a daughter called Anya Shah from before.
Tom and Priya had a son called Arjun Hughes.
A few things to notice:
- "Divorced" and "separated" both give a broken heart, and the couple's children stay joined to both of them.
- "From before" tells the tree that Anya is Priya's daughter but not Tom's. You don't need to say she's Tom's stepdaughter, because the tree can see that from the marriage.
- "They had" after a marriage means the children belong to that couple. That's how Ruby ends up under Sarah and David, and not under Sarah and Tom.
- Couples don't have to be married. "David and Lauren had a son" is enough.
Step, half and in-between
The words get confusing, so here's how they work in this family:
| Word | Means | In this family |
|---|---|---|
| Half-sibling | You share one parent | Mia and Ruby (same mum), Mia and Arjun (same dad) |
| Stepsibling | Your parents married each other, but you share no parent | Mia and Jayden, Mia and Anya |
| Step-parent | Your parent's husband, wife or partner | David is Mia's stepdad, and Priya is her stepmum |
| Stepchild | Your partner's child from before | Anya is Tom's stepdaughter |
| Ex-partner | Someone you were married to or lived with | Tom is Sarah's ex-husband |
Ruby and Arjun are a good puzzle. They share no parent, and their parents aren't married to each other. They're connected only through Mia and Leo, who are half-siblings to both. There isn't really a word for that, which is one more reason to draw a tree.
Tips for your own blended family
- Start with the person everyone shares. Here that's Sarah, or Mia and Leo. Write their story first, then add each new partner and their children.
- Use full names for people who join the family. That way two Toms, or a stepdad who shares a name with a grandad, don't get mixed up.
- Leave out what you'd rather not show. A tree for the children doesn't need every ex. You can always add people later.
- Keep it private if you want. Living people's full birthdays stay on your own device, and only the year goes into the story.
Quick answers
How do you show divorced parents on a family tree?
Keep both parents on the tree with their children joined to both of them, and mark the marriage as ended. In PeoplePlotr, writing "Sarah and Tom divorced in 2016" turns their heart into a broken one.
Do stepchildren go on a family tree?
Yes, if they're part of your family. Join them to the parent they were born to, and the step relationship shows through that parent's marriage.
Can a family tree show someone with two partners?
Yes. The tree puts the person in the middle with one partner on each side, and each couple's children under them.
Is this a real family?
No. We made them up. Every situation in it, though, is very common.
The story behind this tree
PeoplePlotr drew this tree from a few hundred words of plain English. Nobody dragged a box or drew a line. Here is the story, word for word. Open it in the editor to change it, add to it or use it as the start of your own.
Read the story
John Bennett married Margaret Bennett in 1975. John is a man. Margaret is a woman. They had a daughter called Sarah Bennett. Sarah was born in 1982. Sarah married Tom Hughes in 2008. Tom is a man. Tom was born in 1980. They had two children, Mia Hughes and Leo Hughes. Mia was born in 2010. Leo was born in 2013. Mia is a girl. Leo is a boy. Sarah and Tom divorced in 2016. David Okafor and Lauren Price had a son called Jayden Okafor. David is a man. Lauren is a woman. David was born in 1979. Jayden was born in 2012. David and Lauren separated in 2014. Sarah married David in 2019. They had a daughter called Ruby Okafor. Ruby was born in 2021. Tom married Priya Shah in 2018. Priya is a woman. Priya was born in 1984. Priya has a daughter called Anya Shah from before. Anya was born in 2011. Tom and Priya had a son called Arjun Hughes. Arjun was born in 2020. John is bald and has a grey beard and glasses. Margaret has short curly grey hair. Sarah has long blonde hair. Tom has short brown hair and a beard. Priya has brown skin and long black hair. David has dark skin and short black hair. Lauren has red hair. Mia has blonde hair in a ponytail. Leo has brown hair and glasses. Jayden has dark skin and curly black hair. Ruby has light brown skin and curly dark brown hair. Anya has brown skin and long black hair. Arjun has light brown skin and black hair.
