They’re the most famous conjoined twins in the world, and now Abby Hensel, of the duo Abby and Brittany, is now married!
According to public records, Abby Hensel married Army Veteran Josh Bowling in 2021. The twins’ Facebook profile picture also features the girls in a wedding dress facing Bowling, who is holding their hands wearing a grey suit.
According to Today, Abby and Brittany are now fifth grade teachers in their home state of Minnesota where they were born and raised.
RELATED: Inspiring Unity: The Remarkable Story of Conjoined Twins Abby & Brittany Hensel
Josh Bowling is reportedly a nurse. His Facebook page also features happy images of him with the twins, traveling together and enjoying everyday things like ice cream. His X profile, which links to his Facebook account, also reads, “Christian, Father, Husband, Veteran, and occasional gamer.”
Growing Up Abby and Brittany Hensel
It’s been over a decade since Abby and Brittany Hensel have allowed themselves to be in the spotlight.
The pair first became known to the public after appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996. They were just six years old at the time.
It wasn’t until later on that people really started to fall in love with the fun-loving personalities of both Abby and Brittany Hensel thanks to their TLC series, Abby and Brittany.
The show, which only aired for one season, followed the twins as they graduated from Bethel University, and dove into the job market. Viewers got a deeper look at the daily challenges Abby and Brittany faced—for example, being stared at literally everywhere they go—but also highlighted fun milestones, like traveling to Europe and driving a moped.
“People have been curious about us since we were born, for obvious reasons,” the twins said in the first episode of 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.”
Abby and Brittany who are dicephalus conjoined twins, were born fused together at the torso and remain so as adults. The rare condition reportedly effects one in every 200,000 live births. Approximately 70% of conjoined twins are female, and most are stillborn, according to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The girls have separate spinal cords, brains, hearts and other organs but share those located below the waist. Brittany controls the left side of their body, while Abby controls the right.
When Abby and Brittany were born in 1990, their parents Patty and Mike Hensel decided against separation surgery after being told there was very little chance that both twins could survive.
“How could you pick between the two?” Mike said in a 2001 interview with TIME.
In the 2003 documentary, Joined for Life, Patty says her daughters were interested in having children one day.
“That is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them,” Patty shared.
“Yeah, we’re going to be moms,” Brittany said. “We haven’t thought about how being moms is going to work yet. But we’re just 16 — we don’t need to think about that right now.”
18-years later and Abby and Brittany are on their way to making their dreams become a reality.