A pair of conjoined twins who were cast into the limelight by a reality show in the 2010s have resurfaced in a rare photo with one of their husbands.
Abby and Brittany Hensel, stars of the TLC series Abby & Brittany, are seen smiling alongside Joshua Bowling in the previously unseen snap, three years removed from Abby and Bowling’s wedding.
Posted to Bowling’s Facebook, the photo was taken this past September.
It’s the first time the sisters have been pictured in months after several images were shared from Abby and Joshua’s 2021 ceremony, which was only made public months ago.
Held in secret, and now-known nuptials saw the 34-year-old sisters don the same dress. However, as news of the arrangement emerged, an array of criticisms were launched – several citing how the two share the same sex organs.
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Abby and Brittany Hensel, stars of the TLC series Abby & Brittany, are seen smiling alongside Joshua Bowling in the previously unseen snap, three years removed from Abby and Bowling’s wedding
It’s the first time the sisters have been pictured in months after several images were shared from Abby and Joshua’s 2021 ceremony, which was only made public months ago
Currently, Bowling has the September selfie set as his profile photo on Facebook, where he has kept his followers up to date with the family’s activities without sharing his wife and sister-in-law’s likenesses.
On October 2, the military vet-turned-nurse shared a photo of a pumpkin-shaped sourdough bread, seemingly fresh out of the oven.
An accompanying hashtag mentioned the sisters, though the post for the most part fell under the radar.
Other posts show Bowling preparing coffee at the family home, found in the small town of New Brighton, Minnesota.
The twins were photographed leaving a Target in town this past April, in snaps obtained by InTouch.
In it, the two were seen holding a soda and a shopping bag from the big-box store, after getting their nails done earlier in the day.
They both currently teach fourth and fifth grade at a local elementary school, where they share the same paycheck due to teaching the same classes.
The two spoke on the subject in an interview with BBC.
Their condition is described as a rare form of conjoined twinning, where both patients share the same torso. In Abby and Brittany’s case, they share the same bloodstream and all organs below the waist
‘Obviously, right away, we understand that we are going to get one salary because we’re doing the job of one person,’ Abby said back in 2013.
‘As maybe experience comes in, we’d like to negotiate a little bit, considering we have two degrees and because we are able to give two different perspectives or teach in two different ways.’
Within five years, the two would reveal how they had been brought on by the school as full-time instructors and would continue to divide their compensation down the middle.
Three years later, Abby tied the knot with Bowling, who today lives with the twins full-time.
Brittany, however, remains unwed.
Called dicephalic parapagus, the condition the women have is described as a rare form of conjoined twinning, where both patients share the same torso.
In Abby and Brittany’s case, they share the same bloodstream and all organs below the waist. Each twin also controls one arm and leg apiece and retains individual movement of their own head.
Brittany, meanwhile, remains unwed – showing how their condition can lead to some unusual living arrangements
Electing against a separation surgery due to the risk of both dying, the sisters have since lived as a pair.
The year before they got their gig, their mother, Patti Hensel, appeared on their TLC docuseries to describe how the two once had had different dreams.
‘I remember one wanted to be a pilot and one wanted to be a dentist and that was short-lived,’ she said.
‘I think it’s going to go well for them [working as teachers] because they’ve just always had a knack with kids and kids have always kind of been drawn to them.’
The show aired from August to October 2012, following their graduation from college and quest for a first job.
Six years before, the then teenage twins appeared in the documentary Joined For Life after first gaining fame on a 1996 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show when they were six years old.
The two have since stayed out of the limelight for the most part save for the occasional TikTok and odd Facebook post, with Abby’s marriage only coming to light this past March.
Months later, in June, the twins posted an array of snapshots touting the occasion, which was attended by friends and family.
The two first rose to fame on their eponymous TLC show, after appearing on Oprah at just six years old. They have since for the most part stayed out of the limelight, sans the occasional social media post
Prior to the September post, Bowling – who now lives with both women – had not included his wife or twin in any photos on social media
The development reignited interest surrounding their lives, which remain extremely private.
Prior to the September post, Bowling had not included his wife or twin in any photos on social media.
Back in March, the pair broke their social media silence as news of Abby’s wedding surfaced, hitting back at their ‘haters.’
‘The internet is extra LOUD today,’ the twins wrote at the time after not sharing any images until late last year.
We have always been around.’
‘This is a message to all the haters out there.
‘If you don’t like what I do, but watch everything I’m doing, you’re still a fan.’