Together for life: Siamese twins Abby and Brittany got married (17 photos + 1 video)
According to Today, one of the conjoined twins, Abby Hensel, married 33-year-old Josh Bowling, a nurse and US Army veteran, back in 2021. But we can assume that both sisters tied the knot, since they have one body and are inseparable. For obvious reasons, the wedding was quiet and non-public. 
Abby, 34, and her sister Brittany, one of the few dicephalic twins in history to survive infancy, rose to fame on the TLC show Abby & Brittany. The program chronicled major events in their lives, including graduating from high school and finding a job.
Twins share the same body, and from the waist down, all organs, including the intestines, bladder and reproductive organs, are shared. 
In a documentary filmed when the girls were teenagers, their mother said they would one day want to have children of their own, explaining: "It could probably work because these organs really work for them." "Yes, we'll be moms," Brittany agreed.
In another interview, Brittany reiterated their desire to have their own families, saying, "The whole world doesn't need to know who we're dating, what we're doing, or when we're going to do it. But believe me, we are completely different people.” And Abby added: “Yes, one day we will become mothers, but for now we don’t want to talk about how it will happen.” 
The relationship between Abby and Josh (he previously had a family and has one child) has until now remained hidden from the public eye. For the last 10 years, the twins have led a quiet life, trying not to attract too much attention to themselves. They always turned a blind eye to speculation about their personal lives.
“People have been interested in us since we were born, for obvious reasons,” the twins said in the first episode of the eight-part series. “But our parents never allowed us to use that as an excuse. We were raised to believe that we could do whatever we wanted.” 
In a 2001 interview with Time, the twins' father, Mike, said his daughters were already wondering about one day finding husbands. There have already been cases in history when conjoined twins got married, so why not? “They are nice girls,” he added. - They are witty. They have everything they need except being together.”
A video from Abby's wedding recently appeared on the twins' social networks. Photos of her and her husband were also published. For the ceremony, which records show took place in 2021, the twins wore a sleeveless wedding dress with lace trim and the groom wore a gray suit.
Abby Hensel (pictured left), now 34, married nurse and former US veteran Josh Bowling back in 2021
A video filmed by one of the guests and posted on social media shows the twins and the groom enjoying a dance during the big day. In another video, Josh's daughter walks down the aisle in a bridesmaid dress, holding a sign that reads, "Daddy...Here comes your bride."
It's likely that Josh, who works with hospice patients, and the twins live together: On Josh's social media, the entire family, including his young daughter, can be seen enjoying the outdoors, eating ice cream and dressing up for Halloween.
Abby and Brittany were raised Christian by their parents, a nurse and a carpenter. The twins graduated from Bethel University and now teach fifth grade math at an elementary school in New Brighton, Minnesota. This is the place where they were born and raised.
“We knew right away that we were going to get one paycheck because we were doing one person’s work,” Abby said. “One of us can explain the material and the other can observe the class and answer questions,” Brittany added. “So in that sense we can do more than just one person.” The twins have two teaching licenses.
There is only one pair of twins in the world with the same disease - brothers Ayse and Sema Tanrıkulu, who were born in Turkey in 2000.
Abby and Brittany gained fame in 1996, appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on the cover of Life magazine. After that, they lived a quiet, normal life with their family, staying away from the media spotlight until they agreed to appear in a TLC documentary at age 16.
When the Hensel twins were born on March 7, 1990, doctors warned their parents, Patty and Mike, that the babies were unlikely to survive the night. But this prediction turned out to be wrong. The girls also amazed doctors with their amazing coordination when playing the piano and playing sports. Each of them controls one side of the body: Abby - the right, and Brittany - the left.
“When it comes to making decisions, we have to make compromises,” Abby admitted. “We take turns. We want to work so that each of us is happy, and we find a middle ground.” "We usually bargain with each other, like, 'If you do this, I'll give you that,'" Brittany added.
Growing up, they played sports such as bowling, volleyball, cycling, softball and swimming. And on their 16th birthday, they passed their driving test - a mind-blowing team feat that saw the twins each steer with one hand.
Speaking at the time, their mother Patty admitted it could have been a problem. "I don't know what would have happened if they had been pulled over for speeding," she said. “Would they each get a ticket or just Abby because she stepped on the gas pedal?”
Although this couple shares many organs, they experience different feelings of hunger and different urges to urinate and sleep. Their nervous systems are also different from each other. If you tickle Abby's side, Brittany won't feel it. They experience general sensations only in one narrow area of the back.
Parents Patty and Mike never considered separating the twins because of the risk that they might die or be left with such severe disabilities that their quality of life would be compromised.
Growing up, they, like many twins, had completely different personalities and tastes. Abigail, feisty and stubborn, preferred orange juice for breakfast, and Brittany, the main joker in the family, drank exclusively milk.
The twins also differ in height: Abby is 157 cm, and her sister is 147 cm. Brittany has to stand on her tiptoes to maintain balance.
The pair, who are said to have "been posing riddles to the medical world since birth... because no one knows how they function," operate with little interference from each other. For example, they can draft an email together without much discussion out loud, and often finish each other's sentences. However, their clothing styles are different: in 2013, Abby said: “We definitely have different styles. Brittany is more into neutral colors and pearls and things like that, but I prefer things to be fun and bright and colorful.”
Patty didn't know she was carrying twins until she gave birth at the local hospital where she worked.
“The pediatrician said my children have one body but two heads,” she recalled in 2006. “It was harsh, but absolutely accurate. At first glance we thought they were beautiful. I kissed Abigail, then Brittany, and hugged them. And it’s like this every time I pick them up from school: two kisses and one hug for the most beautiful children in the world.”
Mike and Patty's families have lived for generations in a small Midwestern farming community of 300 people, and it is here, away from the media spotlight, that they raised the twins, as well as their younger brother Dakota and sister Morgan.
The twins had a third, undeveloped arm removed from their chests as infants, and at age 12 they had surgery to correct scoliosis and widen the chest cavity to prevent future breathing difficulties. They attended a private church school, and it was only when the family ventured outside this close-knit community that the curiosity of strangers would hurt them.
Describing her daughters' character, Patty added, “They never give up. They keep trying and whatever they want to do, they do.”
