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Conjoined Twins Abby and Brittany Hensel Share Favorite 2024 Moments in New Video
Abby Hensel and Brittany Hensel aren't keeping this information close to their chest.
While the conjoined twins have been willing to share insight into their captivating personal lives, like Abby marrying husband Josh Bowling in 2021, they also decided to educate the public with a recent clip about their physical makeup.
"Abby and Brittany Hensel's anatomy is a remarkable blend of shared and individual organs and tissues," explained the video, created by molecular biologist Hashem Al-Ghaili and shared on the Hensels' TikTok account Dec. 30. "The twins each have their own distinct upper body systems. Abby and Brittany have two heads, two brains, two spinal cords and two hearts, which are part of a shared circulatory system."
Although the 34-year-old sisters—among the oldest dicephalic parapagus conjoined twins—share blood circulation, their brains and spinal cords "function independently."
This is why Abby, who is on the right side, controls the right arm and leg while Brittany manages the left.
"Despite this division, their movements are highly coordinated," the narrator continued. "For activities requiring both arms, such as holding objects, typing on a keyboard or steering a car, they rely on constant cooperation and communication."
In fact, that was a central theme in the twins' series Abby & Brittany. Over a decade ago, viewers saw the pair navigate life as teenagers, including sitting behind the wheel.
"We have two licenses," Abby explained on the TLC show in 2012. "When we got our driver's licenses, we each had to take the test. We both passed."
As for how they go about the task?
"When we drive," Brittany noted, "Abby is in control of the gas and the brakes and then we both steer."
Along with their two brains, two hearts and two spinal cords, the TikTok video explained that Abby and Brittany also have "four lungs—two partially fused, two stomachs, two gall bladders, three kidneys, one liver, one small intestine, one large intestine, one pelvis, one bladder" and "one set of reproductive organs."
Since the twins have their own stomachs, they digest their food separately—which also goes for the pain they may feel in those organs.
Origin / YouTube
"If my stomach hurts, and it hurts right here," Abby explained in the series, pointing to Brittany's stomach, "I can't feel anything."
"I can only feel my right side," Abby added, as Brittany chimed in, "I can only feel my left side."
Along with their reality TV show and recent life updates, like Abby getting married and the twins becoming fifth-grade teachers, they've continued to prove that nothing will stop them.
"Despite their unique anatomy," the video's narrator concluded, "Abby and Brittany have defied the odds, living full, active lives through cooperation and extraordinary coordination. Their story remains a testament to the adaptability of the human body and the resilience of the human spirit."
Now, read on to learn more about Abby and Brittany.
Origin / YouTube
Abby and Brittany’s Surprise Arrival
Abby and Brittany were born on March 7, 1990. Their mother, Patty Hensel, shared in a 2007 documentary Extraordinary People: The Twins Who Share a Body that she only expected to deliver one baby when she gave birth based on scans. Abby and Brittany were initially born with three arms, but had one removed as it wasn’t functional.
Patty and her husband Mike Hensel were told Abby and Brittany were inseparable as babies. And while Patty explained that separation may have been possible as the girls matured, the parents chose to keep them conjoined as they were able to live a full, healthy life together.
"We never wish we were separated," Abby and Brittany both explained in the 2007 documentary. "Because then we wouldn't get to do the things we can do—play softball, meet new people, run."
A Singular Bond
In the 2007 documentary, Abby and Brittany explained that they are often able to anticipate what the other will say when curating an email or online message. In fact, they tend to refer to themselves as one person, unless they disagree. In those cases, they'll say "Abby says" or "Brittany says."
They also now share singular social media accounts, which are private and mostly inactive.
Abby and Brittany Understand the Curiosity—To a Point
Abby and Brittany have long expressed their understanding of people's curiosity toward their life. Still, they admitted to feeling frustration at the reaction they’re met with in public, especially people taking their photo without permission.
“We absolutely hate when people take pictures of us” Abby explained in 2007. “And we will throw a fit about it, and make them embarrassed.”
Additionally, while doctors were curious about their health and growing process as children, Mike and Patty Hensel did not allow any unnecessary tests be done on their daughters. Brittany and Abby also said the doctor's office was their least favorite place to go at the time.
“While they are unique, the family wants to treat them like they are just like anyone else,” the family’s doctor Joy Westerdahl explained in 2007. “I have to be mindful of the family’s wishes not to get too involved.”
Abby’s Blended Family
After marrying Josh Bowling, a nurse and veteran, Abby gained another family member—his 8-year-old daughter Isabella. The couple officially tied the knot on November 13, 2021. And while the news was shocking to the public, Abby and Brittany have always had starting a family on their minds.
"Yeah, we're going to be moms," Brittany said in Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16 in 2006. "We haven't thought about how being moms is going to work yet."
Their Foray Into Reality TV
Now in their thirties, Abby and Brittany have maintained their privacy since Abby & Brittany aired in 2012. The one-season reality series depicted the young women's lives as they wrapped up college and entered into adulthood.
Life Outside the Spotlight
Abby and Brittany began working as a teacher shortly after graduating college. When they were initially hired, they shared they were not in a salaried position, but were given separate contracts, and split their pay.
They currently teach fifth grade together at an elementary school in Minnesota.
“Math and science is kind of my strong point,” Abby explained on an episode of Abby & Brittany. “Where Brittany is more focused on the language arts, reading—stuff like that.”
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