Conjoined twins Abby Hensel and Brittany Hensel would, respectfully, like you to sit back down.
After Abby's recent marriage to Josh Bowling brought them back into the spotlight, the 34-year-old sisters had an epic response for their critics. "This is a message to all the haters out here," read a March 29 TikTok video, which featured 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."
Mic drop. And, as they captioned the clip, "#Forever."
To Abby and Brittany—who are anatomically joined from the belly button down—social media is nothing but noise. After all, as they previously shared on TikTok, "The internet is extra LOUD today. We have always been around. #abbyandbrittanyhensel #happy #love #lovestory #marriage."
They're not wrong. They skyrocketed to superstardom back in 1996 when they sat down for an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show. From there, they moved on to 2006's Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16, 2007's Extraordinary People: The Twins Who Share a Body and a 2012 TLC reality series Abby & Brittany.
"We are totally different people," Brittany, who controls their left limbs, has explained. "We usually bargain with each other like, ‘If you do this, I'll do that.' Or we take turns."
And they wouldn't change a thing. After all, it's the only way of life they know. While they have their own hearts, brains, lungs, stomachs and kidneys, they do share other organs like a liver and bladder.
"We never wish we were separated," they both once said. "Because then we wouldn't get to do the things we can do—play softball, meet new people, run."
Want to learn more about Abby and Brittany? Read on for an inside look at their world...
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."
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 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.”
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."
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.
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.”
