Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel talk challenge in personal life in unearthed interview

May 2024 · 3 minute read

The twins are now 34 and Abby is married to army veteran Josh Bowling 

Abby and Brittany Hensel have an incredibly close bond, but as conjoined twins they face many challenges on a daily basis. 

This includes all the compromises they must make in order to please each other when it comes to everything from what to wear to what to eat. 

In an unearthed interview with BBC back in 2013, the pair gave a rare insight into their daily lives and their very different interests.

"We definitely have different styles," Abby said. "Brittany's a lot more like neutrals and pearls and stuff like that and I would rather have it be more fun and bright and colourful." 

The pair also have to be mindful of each other's fears. Brittany is afraid of heights, meaning going to a theme park would be her idea of hell, even if Abby is a fan. 

Their personalities too, are contrasting. Brittany loves to go out, whereas Abby, despite being the more "outspoken" of the sisters, prefers to stay at home. 

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What's more, the twins may have the same body, but they react differently to things like temperature. "I can be a totally different temperature than Brittany would be," Abby explained, "and a lot of times our hands are different temperatures, so I get super-hot way faster." 

They also have different reactions to coffee, as Brittany's heart rate increases, but Abby isn't impacted. 

The twins, 34, made headlines in March after court documents obtained by revealed that Abby had in fact got married to army veteran Josh Bowling in 2021. Photos of their special day were also shared on social media and featured Abby and her twin Brittany wearing a wedding gown and Josh in a grey suit. Abby and her sister Brittany's Facebook page also have the image as their profile picture. 

Abby is stepmom to Josh's daughter, Isabella, eight, from his former marriage to Annica Bowling. There are several photos on social media showing the little girl hugging Abby and Brittany and posing on vacation with her stepmother and dad. 

Abby and Brittany first came into the spotlight in 1996 after appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show, six years after they were born. A TLC reality show soon followed. The siblings are dicephalus conjoined twins. They share a bloodstream and all of their organs below the waist. 

Abby controls their right arm and leg, and Brittany controls the left. Their parents, Patty and Mike, made the decision not to have them separated when they were born in 1990. 

Doctors said they likely wouldn't survive the procedure and they didn't want to risk the op. "People have been curious about us since we were born, for obvious reasons," Abby and Brittany said in the eight-part series. 

"But our parents never let us use that as an excuse. We were raised to believe we could do anything we wanted to do."

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