Where are conjoined twins and former reality TV stars Abby and Brittany Hensel now?
- Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel rose to prominence after a 1996 appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
- They later had a short-lived TLC reality show chronicling their lives as recent college graduates.
- The Hensels left the spotlight behind, but news that Abby got married has renewed attention.
Abby and Brittany Hensel, Minnesota-born conjoined twins who share a single body with separate heads and necks, first rose to fame as children in the 1990s.
Now, the two are back in the spotlight after news broke that Abby got married.
Here’s what to know about the twins and their lives now.
Abby and Brittany Hensel became famous after appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1996
The Hensel twins were five years old when they appeared as guests on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in April 1996. During the interview, the girls discussed their favorite Disney movie and explained how they work together to move their shared body.
The two also appeared on the cover of Life magazine the same month for a feature titled “One Body, Two Souls.”
According to an interview with Time Magazine, their parents, Mike and Patty Hensel, were initially told by doctors they were expecting just one child. It wasn’t until Abby and Brittany were born, via C-section, that they realized there were two babies — rare dicephalic parapagus twins, sharing a bloodstream and all of their organs below their waist.
After their story was publicized in Life magazine and on Winfrey’s show, the Hensel twins’ lives were chronicled in a series of follow-up TV specials, including “Joined for Life,” a 2002 documentary that aired on the Discovery channel, and “Joined at Birth” the following year.
“Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16,” an update released in 2006, followed the twins as they worked on getting their driver’s licenses and attended high school.
They briefly starred in their own TLC reality show
After high school, the twins attended Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to the Huffington Post.
Following the success of their numerous TV specials, TLC ordered a series following the then 22-year-old twins after they’d finished college. “Abby and Brittany” premiered on the network in August 2012.
“Abby and Brittany” aired for an eight-episode season, ending in October 2012. It depicted their job searches, post-graduation travels in Europe, and part-time teaching. During the series, they also moved into their own house.
Abby reportedly got married in 2021
On Wednesday, Today.com broke the news that Abby, now 34, had gotten married to a man named Joshua Bowling in 2021.
According to the publication, Bowling is a nurse and veteran of the US Army. The sisters, who are both working as fifth-grade teachers, reportedly still live in Minnesota, where they were born and raised. Bowling’s Facebook page, which has since been made private but was previously viewed by Business Insider, shows pictures of their wedding and the family traveling.
A Facebook page that appears to belong to Bowling’s mother has also shared wedding photos and a video of her son with the Hensels and reference their marriage, tagging the twins’ Facebook page. Bowling’s mom has also shared photos of the family boating.
According to the New York Post, Abby became a stepmom through the marriage to Bowling’s daughter from a past relationship.
TikTok and Facebook accounts that appear to belong to the Hensel twins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Abby’s reported marriage.
Abby and Brittany appeared to address speculation around the marriage on TikTok
News of the marriage gained attention online following the media coverage, which appeared to prompt the pair to respond with TikTok videos on Friday, according to outlets like People and The New York Post.
“The internet is extra LOUD today. We have always been around,” the first video’s caption read.
The video featured statues of conjoined twins alongside hashtags like “happy” and “marriage.”
A second video appeared to show several pictures of the pair and Bowling together, including at their wedding. The third video featured a photo of Abby, Brittany, and Bowling embracing.
“This is for all you haters out there. If you don’t like what I do but watch everything I’m doing, you’re still a fan,” a voiceover said.
Identical conjoined twins, Abby and Brittany Hensel have shared how their bodies are connected in a new post.
The sisters, who first hit our screens aged six following an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996, went on to appear on a number of documentaries and even had their own reality show on TLC.
While navigating the world with a conjoined body, Abby and Brittany let the world in on their challenges and their successes.
But one question everyone has had is: ‘How exactly are you conjoined?’
Well, they’ve answered it, and it sheds a lot of light on how their condition affects their anatomy.
Abby and Brittany Hensel are conjoined twins (TLC)
The sisters shared a video on their TikTok account to visually describe how their body operates.
In the video, you can see a mapped-out simulation of their body and also their organs and skeletal structure.
It explains that the pair each have their own brain, their own spinal cord which fuses into one half-way down their back and more.
It revealed that Abby controls the right arm and right leg, while Brittany controls the opposite side.
This means that they have to ‘coordinate’ their movements, which they have become incredibly smooth with as their daily operation requires being able to be in tune with each other.
The video explained how they are connected (TikTok/@abbyandbrittanyhensel)
The video said: “For activities requiring both arms, such as holding objects, typing on a keyboard or steering a car, they rely on constant cooperation and communication.
“They’re able to perform these tasks smoothly thanks to the remarkable synchronisation between their two brains and nervous systems.”
The narrated video also shared that, while both women have their own heart, they are connected to the same circulatory system and their hearts can have an impact on the other.
They also have two lungs, which is partially fused in the middle, two oesophagi, two stomachs, a shared liver which is larger than normal, a shared small intestine, a shared large intestine and three kidneys.
Abby has one kidney and Brittany has two, which helps the pair’s filtration accommodate their shared urinary system.
Because they have their own stomachs and oesophagus, they are able to feel hunger separately, however, they feel stomach ache differently – if one twin gets stomach pain, it’s felt by the opposite person.
“Overall, Abby and Brittany’s unique anatomy can be summarised as follows: 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 gallbladders, three kidneys, one liver, one small intestine, one large intestine, one pelvis, one bladder, one set of reproductive organs, two arms and two legs,” shared the video.
It noted that the women have defied the odds to live successful lives, and their extraordinary coordination means that they have been able to live actively and happily.
