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Conjoined Twins Abby and Brittany Hensel Share Important Message With Fans
Conjoined twins Abby Hensel and Brittany Hensel had a year to remember.
Since returning to the public eye over a decade after their series Abby & Brittany ended, the TLC alums shared a glimpse at their most notable moments of the year as 2024 comes to a close.
The Dec. 30 video began with a picture of Abby and Brittany with the former's husband Josh Bowling from earlier this year. Although Abby and Josh tied the knot in 2021, news of their nuptials only emerged in March. At the time, the twins quipped amid the coverage, "The internet is extra LOUD today. We have always been around."
Now, in their 2024 recap, Abby and Brittany shared clips from Abby's special day, including one of the 34-year-old twins dancing with Josh in their wedding gown.
Since the wedding, the sisters—among the oldest dicephalic parapagus conjoined twins—have also welcomed Josh's daughter Isabella with open arms—and ice cream cones in hand. After all, in another highlight of their year, the family of four was beaming as they posed at an ice cream shop with their sweet treats.
Although Abby, Brittany and Josh have been enjoying family time, returning to the spotlight brought a new wave of criticism about their lives. But they didn't let those comments get to them, with the twins sharing a special clapback for the critics.
"This is a message to all the haters out here," read a March 29 TikTok video featuring pictures of the duo alongside Abby's husband. "If you don't like what I do but watch everything I'm doing, you're still a fan."
They simply captioned the message, "#Forever."
Abby Hensel and Brittany Hensel/TikTok
Despite some negative remarks about Abby and Brittany, the twins have been willing to educate the public about their personal life and physical makeup. The twins shared insight into their anatomy in a Dec. 30 TikTok video posted to their account and created by molecular biologist Hashem Al-Ghaili.
According to the video, Abby and Brittany have "two heads, two spines merging at the coccyx, two brains and spinal cords, two hearts, one circulatory system, four lungs—two partially fused, two stomachs, two gall bladders, three kidneys, one liver, one small intestine, one large intestine, one pelvis, one bladder, one set of reproductive organs, two arms and two legs."
Facebook / Josh Bowling
"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 for a look into Abby and Brittany's world.
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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