FOR 30 years, conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel shared a bond unlike any other, living life literally side by side.
That closeness took a new form four years ago when Abby married US Army veteran Joshua Bowling, while Brittany remained a single woman.
Abby Hensel tied the knot with Joshua Bowling in 2021 – but her conjoined twin Brittany is single[/caption]
The girls have a rare condition known as dicephalic parapagus, where two heads are side-by-side on a single torso[/caption]
The conjoined twins were seen carrying a newborn baby in a car seat and placing the infant into the back of a black Tesla at a car park in Minnesota last Thursday[/caption]
It hasn’t been confirmed if the baby is their own[/caption]
Now the Minnesota twins, now 35, recently drew attention again when they were spotted with a newborn baby, fuelling speculation that they have fulfilled their vow that they would be “moms one day.”
Photos showed the twins carrying the infant in a car seat and placing them into the back of a black Tesla in a car park.
It hasn’t been confirmed who the legal mother is, and it is possible they used a surrogate or adopted, if the baby is theirs.
Last year, the conjoined twins left fans confused after posting a cryptic TikTok video after pregnancy rumours.
Then in June, Joshua shared an image of a baby mat in a box on X, hinting he was preparing for a baby’s arrival.
SHARED LIFE
Their story first captured global attention in 1996 after they were born on March 7, 1990, with a rare condition known as dicephalic parapagus, where two heads are side-by-side on a single torso.
From the waist down, the twins share all organs, including bladder, intestine and reproductive organs.
Above this, they have two hearts, two oesophagi, two stomachs, three kidneys, two gall bladders, four lungs (two of which are joined), one liver, one ribcage – and they have two spines which join at the pelvis.
Brittany, the left twin, has no feeling on the right side of her body, while Abby can’t feel anything on her left, and they instinctively move their limbs as if they were coordinated by one person.
The Hensel sisters are the rarest form of conjoined twins, and were formed as the result of a single fertilised egg failing to fully separate in the womb.
The girls have garnered a lot of worldwide attention, after the were born in 1990[/caption]
Statistically out of 40,000 twins, just one set will be connected to one another, and of those, only one per cent survive beyond the first year.
Indeed, Abby and Brittany’s parents – registered nurse Patty and carpenter Mike – were told by medical staff at the birth that they weren’t likely to survive the night.
They had no idea they were having twins, let alone conjoined twins, until the birth and separating the babies would have basically meant cutting them right down the middle.
Patty and Mike rejected the idea because of the high risk of further disabilities and the fact both would be wheelchair-bound with one arm and one leg.
Patty later said: “From the first time we saw them, we thought they were beautiful.”
Abby and Brittany, who also have a younger brother and sister, have defied all odds, and have gone on to have their own jobs, reality TV show and form relationships.
The girls graduated from Bethel University in Minnesota[/caption]
They have adapted well to take on numerous activities and sports[/caption]
They now work as maths teachers at a school in Minnesota, and are happy to share one pay.
In 2013, Abby told the BBC: “Obviously, right away we understand that we are going to get one salary because we’re doing the job of one person.
“As experience comes in, we’d like to negotiate a little bit, considering we have two degrees and because we are able to give two different perspectives or teach in two different ways.”
Brittany weighed in: “One can be teaching and one can be monitoring and answering questions. So in that sense we can do more than one person.”
From the waist down, the twins share all organs, including bladder, intestine and reproductive organs[/caption]
Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany on their reality show[/caption]
WEDDING BELLS
In 2021, when Abby tied the knot with Joshua – who shares daughter Isabella with ex-wife Annica – many people wondered if both twins would be technically married.
However, TMZ obtained documents that confirmed that legally the marriage only applied to Abby.
On the special day, the twins opted for a sleeveless wedding dress with lace detailing.
Previously, the girls said they wanted to be mums[/caption]
In a documentary about the twins, mum Patty spoke about whether the girls would have kids of their own.
She shared: “[It] is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them.”
At the time Brittany claimed: “Yeah, we’re going to be moms.”
Meanwhile, dad Mike told Time in 2001: “They’re good-looking girls. They’re witty. They’ve got everything going for them, except they’re together.”
While Abby and Josh’s relationship and wedding was made public, Brittany prefers to keep her love life low key.
She shared during an interview: “The whole world doesn’t need to know who we are seeing, what we are doing and when we are going to do it.
“But believe me, we are totally different people.”
The twins now work as maths teachers at a school in Minnesota, and are happy to share one pay[/caption]
PREGNANCY RUMOURS
Last December the twins shared a video announcing their supposed pregnancy on their TikTok account leading some fans to believe they were expecting.
The 30-second clip, shared with their 303,000 followers, featured the headline “Married and baby on the way”.
Rushing to congratulate the pair, one person said: “Congratulations on the upcoming baby announcement!!!”
Another user commented: “Congratulations!”
Someone else wrote: “Congratulations on being pregnant. You will make great moms.”
Who are the Hensel twins?
The pair defied doctors when they survived by being born with rare condition dicephalic parapagus on March 7, 1990, at a hospital in the rural Minnesotan town of New Germany in the US.
Each has their own heart, stomach and pair of lungs, but they share a single body from the waist down.
Abby controls their right arm and leg, while Brittany controls the left side.
Parents Patty, a nurse, and Mike, a carpenter, were not even aware they were having twins, let alone conjoined ones, until Patty gave birth.
Patty later said: “From the first time we saw them, we thought they were beautiful.”
The couple opted to limit their exposure to the media to give the girls a chance at a normal life.
To separate the babies would have basically meant cutting them right down the middle.
The twins first burst into the public eye when they were aged six as they appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996.
On the show they explained how they operate the world together despite being permanently attached.
In their early teens, Abby and Brittany became the focus of a hit 2003 documentary named Joined For Life.
But with their young lives being on show the pair quickly encountered dreadful and nasty online trolls who taunted and teased them over their appearance and disability.
This caused the Hensel twins to keep their adult lives quiet including Abby’s marriage.
After going through college the pair became fifth grade math teachers at a school in New Brighton, Minnesota.
