Abby & Brittany : Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel Is Married
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Remember conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel? They're all grown up and have expanded their family.
In fact, Abby has actually been married for several years, tying the knot with Josh Bowling in 2021, Today reported March 27, citing public records. The 34-year-old twins now live in Minnesota with Josh, who describes himself on his Facebook page as a "father, veteran, nurse."
Brittany and Abby—who were born in raised in Minnesota—first shared their life story in 1996 on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2012, the two offered fans a closer glimpse at their lives and rare condition with their own reality show, Abby & Brittany on TLC. The sisters, who are dicephalus conjoined twins, were born fused together at the torso and remain so as adults. They have separate spinal cords, brains, hearts and other organs but share those located below the waist. Brittany controls the left side of their body, while Abby controls the right.
The twins graduated from Bethel University in 2012 and in recent years, they have worked as teachers at an elementary school in their home state.
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While the sisters have spoken about many aspects of their lives on-camera as teens, they have kept their love lives private and shied away from the spotlight for more than a decade.
"The whole world doesn't need to know who we're dating," Brittany said on the 2006 documentary Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16, "or what we're gonna do and everything."
However, they have expressed interest in having kids.
"Yeah, we're going to be moms," Brittany said on the documentary. "We haven't thought about how being moms is going to work yet."
Read on to learn more about Abby and Brittany.
(E! News and Today are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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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