Will conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel now realize their dreams of having children after Abby's secret wedding in 2021

An American teacher who shot to fame on a reality TV series with her conjoined twin is now setting her sights on motherhood after it was revealed she quietly married three years ago.

10:37 29/03/2024

Abby Hensel, now 34, from Minnesota, tied the knot with Josh Bowling, 33, a nurse and army veteran in 2021, according to public records obtained by TODAY.

Abby and her sister Brittany, one of only a few sets of dicephalus twins in history to survive infancy, rose to fame 28 years after captivating the world with an appearance on Oprah.

In a documentary filmed when the girls were teenagers, their mother said they were keen to have children of their own one day, explaining: 'That is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them.' 

'Yeah, we're going to be moms,' Brittany agreed. 

Abbey agreed saying: 'Yeah, we are going to be mums one day, but we don't want to talk about how it's going to work yet.' 

The pair can eat, write and complete tasks separately from one another, but share a single body, and from the waist down, all their organs, including the intestine, bladder and reproductive organs.

This means they can conceive a child in the conventional way, but it's unclear who would legally be the child's mother.

Abby Hensel (pictured left), now 34, got married to nurse and former US veteran Josh Bowling (pictured right) back in 2021. So will she realise her dream of having children?

Abby (pictured right) dancing with her groom at her wedding day, while wearing a stunning white lace dress

In another interview, Brittany reiterated their desire to have families of their own, saying: 'The whole world doesn't need to know who we are seeing, what we are doing and when we are going to do it. But believe me, we are totally different people.'

Abby added: 'Yeah, we are going to be moms one day, but we don't want to talk about how it's going to work yet.'

While their eponymous TLC show which chronicled their major life events, including their high school graduation and job hunting, Abby's relationship with Josh, who is a father-of-one, has gone under the radar until now, with the twins leading a quieter life out of the spotlight in the past 10 years. 

They have always shut down speculation about their private life and a decade ago, they dismissed a rumor that Brittany was engaged as a 'dumb joke', but even as teenagers they spoke about wanting to have children. 

'People have been curious about us since we were born, for obvious reasons,' the twins said in the first episode of their eight-part series, according to ABC News. 'But our parents never let us use that as an excuse. We were raised to believe we could do anything we wanted to do.'

In a 2001 interview with Time, the twins' father Mike said his daughters had already then asked about finding husbands one day.

Knowing that other conjoined twins have married, he explained, why not? 'They're good-looking girls. They're witty. They've got everything going for them, except they're together,' he added.

Can conjoined twins have children? How Abbey and Britney could become only the second set in history to welcome a child 

Conjoined twins are exceptionally rare, with less than one in 100,000 births.

Female conjoined twins are even more rare and in many cases, the twins don't survive infancy.

As such, there is only in only one case were pregnancy and delivery successfully achieved by the conjoined twins themselves, according to the US National Library of Medicine. 

Rosa and Josepha Blažek,  born in Skrejšov, Bohemia in 1878, were joined at the posterior, in in 1909  Rosa had a son. 

Last year, a formerly conjoined twin gave birth where she and her sister were surgically separated as babies over two decades ago.

Charity Lincoln Gutierrez-Vazquez, 21, and her twin sister Kathleen were attached from the breastbone to the pelvis when they were born in 2000. The sisters, who each had one leg, shared several internal organs and a third fused leg.

When they were seven months old, they were successfully separated by a team of nearly 30 doctors, nurses, and support staff at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle during a dangerous 31-hour surgery.

Twenty-one years later, Charity welcomed her baby girl, Alora, at the same hospital via cesarean section. 

On their TikTok account @abbyandbrittanyhensel, a clip was recently posted showing off Abby's wedding day - and a Facebook account titled Britt And Abby also featured a picture of the happy couple.

For the ceremony, which records revealed took place back in 2021, the twins sported a sleeveless wedding dress with lace trim detailing while the groom wore a grey suit.

A video thought to have been captured by one of their guests and shared on social media showed the twins and the groom enjoying a dance during the big day.

Another showed Josh's daughter sporting a floral bridesmaid's dress and walking down the aisle, holding a sign that read: 'Daddy... Here Comes Your Bride'. 

It's likely the father-of-one, who works with hospice patients, and the twins live with one another, with Josh's Facebook page showing the family - including his young daughter - enjoying hikes in nature, ice cream and dressing up for Halloween. 

The twins, who have their own birth certificates and passports, were raised Christian by their parents, a nurse and a carpenter.

Abby and Brittany are now both fifth grade math teachers at an elementary school in New Brighton, Minnesota, where they were born and raised.

Here is Abby (pictured left) as she stuns in a white floor-length gown on her wedding day

Abby and her sister Brittany (pictured during their childhood), one of only a few sets of dicephalus twins in history to survive infancy, rose to fame on their eponymous TLC show which chronicled their major life events, including their high school graduation and job hunting

The pair (pictured as children) share a single body, and from the waist down, all their organs, including the intestine, bladder and reproductive organs, are shared

Abby (pictured left) and Brittany appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996

'Obviously, right away, we understand that we are going to get one salary because we're doing the job of one person,' Abby previously said.

'One can be teaching and one can be monitoring and answering questions,' added Brittany. 'So in that sense we can do more than one person.' The twins also have two teaching licenses. 

There is only one of set of twins living in the world with the same condition - brothers Ayşe and Sema Tanrıkulu who were born in Turkey in 2000. 

Abby and Brittany first captivated the world in 1996 when they appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the cover of Life Magazine.

They then lived a quiet, normal life with their family, keeping away from the media spotlight until they agreed to appear on a documentary for TLC when they turned 16. 

When the Hensel twins were born on March 7, 1990, doctors warned their parents Patty and Mike that they were unlikely to survive the night. But that prediction was to prove wildly wrong. 

They also stunned doctors with their astonishing co-ordination while playing the piano and sports. Each has control over one side of the body, with Abby controlling the right hand side and Brittany the left, according to the BBC. 

'When it comes to decisions, there are compromises we have to make,' Abby said when discussing the twins' co-ordination on their show. 'We take turns. We want to work it so each of us is happy and we find a happy medium.'

Growing up, they enjoyed sports such as bowling, volleyball, cycling, softball and swimming. 

Abby's relationship with Josh, who is a father-of-one, has gone under the radar until now, with the twins leading a quieter life out of the spotlight in the past 10 years

The twins are now both fifth grade teachers, according to TODAY. They live in Minnesota, where they were born and raised by their parents, a nurse and a carpenter

And on their 16th birthday they passed their driving test, a mind-boggling feat of teamwork with each twin using one arm to control the steering wheel. 

Speaking at the time, their mother Patty, a registered nurse, conceded that could have been a problem.

She said: '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?'

Though the pair share many organs, they experience separate hungers and separate urges to urinate and sleep. Their nervous systems are also distinct, according to Time. 

The publication explained how if Abby is tickled on her side, Brittany can't feel it (apart from along a narrow part on their back where they appear to share sensation).

Parents Patty and Mike never once considered having the twins separated, because of the risk both might die or be left with such severe disabilities their quality of life would be compromised. 

When growing up, they, like many twins, had very different personalities and tastes. Abigail, the feisty, stubborn one, liked orange juice for breakfast, while Brittany, the joker of the family, would only touch milk. 

Speaking previously, Brittany, who alongside her sibling graduated from Bethel University in Minnesota, said: 'Believe me, we are totally different people.' 

The girls are shown graduating from Bethel University in Minnesota in the first episode of their reality show

Conjoined twins occur when siblings have their skin or internal organs fused together.

It affects around one in 200,000 live births.

Conjoined twins are caused by a fertilised egg beginning to split into two embryos a few weeks after conception, but the process stops before it is complete.

The most common type is twins joined at the chest or abdomen.

Separation surgery success depends on where the twins are joined.

Doctors can only tell which organs the siblings share, and therefore plan surgery, after they are born. 

At least one twin survives 75 per cent of the time. 

The most famous pair of conjoined twins was Chang and Eng Bunker, who  were born in 1811 and travelled with PT Barnum's circus. They were born in Siam and were known as the Siamese twins.

The Hensel girls are the rarest form of conjoined twins, the result of a single fertilised egg which failed to separate properly in the womb, resulting in dicephalic parapagus - where the twins have two heads and a single body with two arms and two legs.  

They have two spines (which join at the pelvis), two hearts, two oesophagi, two stomachs, three kidneys, two gall bladders, four lungs (two of which are joined), one liver, one ribcage, a shared circulatory system and partially shared nervous systems.

From the waist down, all organs, including the intestine, bladder and reproductive organs, are shared.

While they were born with three arms, one was removed surgically.

Although Brittany - the left twin - can't feel anything on the right side of the body and Abigail - the right twin - can't feel anything on her left, instinctively their limbs move as if co-ordinated by one person, even when typing e-mails on the computer.

It is rare for twins conjoined the way that Abby and Brittany are to survive into adulthood, but despite this they are in good health, without heart defects or organ failure.

The twins are also a different height, with Abbey 5ft 2in and her sister 4ft 10in. Brittany has to stand on tip toe to ensure they maintain their balance. 

But the pair know each other so well that they often finish each other's sentences. However, their dress sense isn't the same, with Abbey saying in 2013: 'We definitely have different styles.

'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.'

Patty had no idea she was carrying twins until the birth at the local hospital where she worked.

'The paediatrician said my babies were together but they had two heads,' she recalled in 2006. 'It was blunt, but completely accurate. 

'From the first time we saw them, we thought they were beautiful. I kissed Abigail and then Brittany and gave them a hug. 

'It's like that every time I pick them up from school, two kisses and one hug for the most beautiful children in the world.'

Both Mike and Patty's families have lived in a small midwestern farming community of 300 people for generations and it is here where they have brought up the twins and younger brother Dakota and sister Morgan away from the media spotlight.

During their show (pictured), the twins displayed an astonishing sense of co-ordination, with each using one arm to perform tasks, including playing the piano and sport

The pair passed their driving test on their 16th birthday, with each twin using one arm to control the steering wheel

The twins are seen prepping for their 22nd birthday party

In infancy, a third undeveloped arm was removed from the twins' chest and aged 12 they underwent surgery to correct scoliosis - curvature of the spine - and expand their chest cavity to prevent future breathing difficulties.

They attended a private church school and only when the family ventures outside this close-knit community does the curiosity of strangers have the potential to wound.

Once Patty heard a child at a swimming pool ask his mother if she had seen the little girl with two heads. 'We have talked about that with Abigail and Brittany,' she previously said.

'When children ask the girls if they have two heads, they say they don't but that each has their own head. That's what we have encouraged them to do, to develop their own individuality as much as possible.'

According to previous reports, only once have the twins talked about separation - in childhood - when Abigail became bored and restless after Brittany fell ill with pneumonia and was confined to bed.

In the 2003 documentary Joined for Life, their mother Patty said her daughters (pictured) were interested in having children one day

According to previous reports, only once have the twins (pictured) talked about separation - in childhood - when Abigail became bored and restless after Brittany fell ill with pneumonia and was confined to bed

The sisters (pictured) are now both fifth grade teachers at an elementary school in New Brighton, Minnesota, where they teach math

She started to suggest being separated from her sister, but when Brittany began to cry Abigail reassured her that everything was fine and that they'd never be parted.

In the 2003 documentary Joined for Life, their mother Patty said her daughters were interested in having children one day. 

'That is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them,' Patty explained.

'Yeah, we're going to be moms,' Brittany added. '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.'

The pair, who were said to have 'mystified the medical world since they were born... because nobody knows how they work', act almost seamlessly with one another.

They can, for instance, jointly compose an email with very little discussion out loud and often finish one another's sentences.

However, their dress sense isn't the same, with Abby saying in 2013: 'We definitely have different styles.

'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 siblings have clothes tailored to fit their body.

Patty had no idea she was carrying twins until the birth at the local hospital where she worked.

'When children ask the girls if they have two heads, they say they don't but that each has their own head. That's what we have encouraged them to do, to develop their own individuality as much as possible.'

According to previous reports, only once have the twins talked about separation - in childhood - when Abigail became bored and restless after Brittany fell ill with pneumonia and was confined to bed.

She started to suggest being separated from her sister, but when Brittany began to cry Abigail reassured her that everything was fine and that they'd never be parted.

In the 2003 documentary Joined for Life, their mother Patty said her daughters were interested in having children one day.

'That is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them,' Patty explained.

'Yeah, we're going to be moms,' Brittany added. '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.'

Discussing her daughters' personalities, Patty added: 'They never give up. They keep trying, anything they want to do they go out and do it.'

Meanwhile, the twins also opened up about people taking photographs of them while they're on holiday with their family.

'We don't mind when people ask questions, that's better than taking pictures or being mean about it,' Abby said. 'We absolutely hate when people take pictures of us.'

While the twins call Minnesota home, they once refused to rule out a move to London, declaring they loved the British capital.

They have studied abroad in London twice, teaching at a Maidenhead school during their training, according to the 2012 documentary Abby and Brittany: College and Beyond.