When people hear of twins or triplets, a common question is “how far apart are you?” Otherwise asking, who was born first? People are always interested in sets of multiples’ birth order.
For my own younger twin sisters, the 20 minutes between their births was enough to distinguish a middle child and a baby in our family, despite them sharing a birthday.
But for central Virginia triplets Janie, Wright, and Luke Hilbert, the answer to who was born first, second, and third didn’t come until they turned 18.
In a now-viral TikTok video that’s been viewed more than 20 million times since February, Janie Hilbert shared her and her brothers’ reactions to learning their birth order on their 18th birthday.
“POV ur, a triplet, and ur parents waited to tell you birth order until ur 18th,” the video reads.
@janie.banie4x3 ♬ original sound – .
The video shows all three teens’ reactions full of wide eyes, hands in the air, and their mouths open in shock, but doesn’t reveal the birth order to viewers.
As you can imagine, TikTok was shook and demanding answers.
“I WANNA KNOW,” one user replied.
“Do we have to wait 18 years to find out too?” Quipped another.
“I NEED TO KNOW,” another wrote.
Several others flocked to the comments as other twins and triplets shared their experience growing up knowing.
“I’m a twin and I can’t imagine my childhood without reminding my brother I’m 1 minute older!” One person wrote.
“I’m a triplet with another boy and girl, this would have been such a fun idea,” shared another.
Janie did ultimately share the triplets’ birth order in a creative follow-up TikTok, revealing that Wright is the oldest, followed by Luke, then Janie.
@janie.banie4triplet birth order reveal!!!♬ Full House – The Hollywood Prime Time Orchestra
“I did not want to be the youngest,” Janie told TODAY. “That’s the one thing I really hoped I hadn’t been waiting 18 years to be the youngest, and then here we are.”
Nonetheless, Janie says the new information hasn’t changed the family dynamic in the slightest.
“We all just bond. We really do. Our relationship with each other is really special,” Janie says. “I don’t think (the reveal) has really changed much, but it’s been interesting to think back about our childhood and think about whether we just naturally went into those roles.”
The triplets, who also have an older brother, learned that the details of their birth order had been right in front of them all along.
