- Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel rose to fame after appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1996.
- They then had a short-lived TLC reality show that chronicled their lives fresh out of college.
- The Hensels have left the spotlight behind, but the news that Abby got married is back in the spotlight.
Abby and Brittany Hansel, Minnesota-born conjoined twins with separate heads and necks who share one body, first rose to fame as children in the 1990s.
Ever since the news broke that Abby got married, the two have been in the spotlight again.
Here's what you need to know now about the twins and their lives.
Abby Hensel and Brittany Hensel rose to fame in 1996 when they appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
The Hansels twins were 5 years old when they appeared as guests on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in April 1996. During the interview, the girls talked about their favorite Disney movies and explained how they work together to move their common bodies.
In the same month, the two appeared on the cover of Life magazine in a feature titled “One Body, Two Souls.”
According to an interview with Time magazine, parents Mike and Patti Hensel were initially told by doctors that they would only have one child. It wasn't until Abby and Brittany were born by C-section that we realized we were having two babies. They are rare bicephalic parapagus twins who share blood flow and all organs below the waist.
After their story was published in Life magazine and on Winfrey's show, the Hansel twins' lives were featured in several films, including the 2002 documentary “Joined for Life” and “Joined for Life,” which aired on the Discovery Channel. It was recorded in a series of follow-up television specials. The following year, “At Birth.''
The 2006 update “Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16'' followed the twins as they worked to get their driver's licenses and attended high school.
They briefly appeared on their own TLC reality show
After high school, the twins attended Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to Huffington Post.
Following the success of a number of television specials, TLC ordered a series that would follow the then 22-year-old twins after they graduated from college. “Abby and Brittany” premiered on the network in August 2012.
“Abby and Brittany” aired for an eight-episode season and ended in October 2012. It depicted their job hunting, their post-graduation trip to Europe, and their work as part-time instructors. 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, married a man named Joshua Bowling in 2021.
According to the paper, Bowling is a nurse and a U.S. Army veteran. His sisters both work as fifth grade teachers and reportedly still live in Minnesota, where they were born and raised. Bowling's Facebook page, which is currently private but previously viewed by Business Insider, features photos from weddings and family vacations.
A Facebook page believed to belong to Bowling's mother also mentioned the marriage, tagging the twins' Facebook page and sharing photos and videos of the Hansels and their son's wedding. Bowling's mother also shared a photo of her family boating.
According to the New York Post, Abby became a stepmother through her marriage to Bowling's daughter from a previous relationship.
TikTok and Facebook accounts believed to belong to the Hensel twins did not respond to requests for comment on reports of Abby's marriage.
Abby and Brittany seem to address speculation about their marriage on TikTok
According to People magazine and the New York Post, news of the marriage gained attention online following media coverage, and the couple apparently responded with a TikTok video on Friday.
The first video's caption read, “Today's internet is louder than ever. We've always been there.”
The video was accompanied by images of conjoined twins and hashtags such as “happiness” and “marriage.”
A second video showed several photos of the pair bowling together, including one from their wedding. A third video featured a photo of Abby, Brittany, and Bowling hugging each other.
“This is for all you haters out there. Even if you don't like what I do, even if you see everything I do, you're still a fan,” the voiceover says. Ta.
