The 34-year-old conjoined twins, , were considered a ' miracle' as they are among the few sets of conjoined twins who survived infancy, despite only having a 1% chance of survival beyond the first year. Conjoined twins, referring to twins physically fused in utero and consequently at birth, are extremely rare with only one set in every 40,000 born connected in some way. Generally, their prognosis is poor, with a total survival rate of 7.5%, and only 60% of surgically separated cases survive, according to The National Library of Medicine. The twins share a single body and all the same organs (including intestine bladder and reproductive organs), joined at the pelvis and sharing a single body from the waist down. Each twin controls one side of the body, which meant growing up required careful co-operation and coordination for tasks like crawling, walking, and clapping. After gaining fame when they appeared on and the cover of Life magazine in 1996 at just six years old, the twins starred in their own reality series on TLC in 2012. The show featured them graduating college together, traveling to Europe, and seeking their first job. Born in Minnesota on March 7, 1990, to nurse Patty and carpenter Mike, the twins' arrival was a surprise as Patty didn't know she was expecting two babies. The medical advice was daunting; doctors said surgery to separate them could be fatal for one. "How could you pick between the two? " their dad Mike pondered in a Time Magazine interview back in 2001. From early on, Abby and Brittany learned to synchronize their actions, mastering activities like running, swimming, and even playing piano togetherAbby handling the right-hand melodies while Brittany managed the left. When it came to driving, the twins faced unique challenges. They featured in a 2008 documentary 'Joined For Life: Abby And Brittany Turn 16', where Brittany explained their system: "Abby takes over the pedals and the shifter, we both steer, and I take over the blinker and the lights. But she likes driving faster than me." Despite the complexities, they each have their own driver's licenses after passing two separate tests. Their mother humorously remarked, "I don't know what would happen if they got pulled over for speeding. Would they each get a ticket or just Abby because it's her foot on the accelerator?" Travel poses its quirks too; they need individual passports but only one plane ticket since they occupy a single seat. The twins pursued their higher education at Bethel University in Minnesota, initially opting for different majors. Yet professors cautioned that juggling double the coursework and assignments would prove unsustainable, leading the duo to enroll in a teaching degree program. They completed their academic journey in 2012, graduating with two Bachelor of Arts degrees. Having selected a path in education, the dynamic duo currently teaches fourth and fifth grades, equivalent to Year 5 and 6 in the
UK. They concentrate on math instruction at Sunnyside Elementary School in Minnesota. Their dual teaching style permits one to instruct while the other observes and aids. Despite their individual contribution, they only collect a single salary. "Obviously right away we understand that we are going to get one salary because we're doing the
Job of one person," Abby shared in an earlier conversation with the
BBC. Consistently asserting their independence, Abby discretely married Josh Bowling, a fellow nurse, and Army veteran, in 2021. A video posted on their TikTok account, @abbyandbrittanyhensel, unveils their wedding ceremony, amassing a whopping 29.9million views. The twins are spotted in a white wedding dress, hand-in-hand with Josh, a doting father of one. The conjoined twins have openly expressed their desire to embrace motherhood. Should Abby or Brittany conceive, they would make history as the first female dicephalic twins, joined side-by-side, to bear children. Abby has been quoted: "Yeah, we are going to be moms one day, but we don't want to talk about how it's going to work yet." All the latest news, showbiz, lifestyle and sports updates, brought to you by our dedicated
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