Ever think about the things you have in common with someone from the 19th century? Sure, countless things have changed since then, including everything from technology to pop culture. But one thing remains the same, then and now, and that’s the fact that nothing fascinates people more than conjoined twins.
And there may be no more famous conjoined twins in the world than the Hensel twins. They became famous thanks to their appearance on Oprah back in 1996, and they subsequently landed their own reality show on TLC. These days, the twins have mostly stayed off the public radar, but that all changed thanks to some social media posts they made in late 2024 that revealed surprising new looks at Abby’s husband and child.
What were these posts about, and what did they help us learn about the world’s most famous conjoined twins? Keep reading to find out!
Who are the Hensel twins?
Before we go any further, it’s important to bring you up to speed on who these conjoined twins are. Abby and Brittany Hensel were born in 1990, and they made an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s popular talk show in 1996. They appeared on the cover of Life magazine that same year, helping them become relatively famous. Soon enough, they were making more prominent media appearances in the documentaries Joined For Life and Joined At Birth.
All of this culminated in the Hensel twins getting their own TLC reality show in 2012 named Abby & Brittany. This show featured the twins finishing college and beginning a new job as teachers. Since then, the two have experienced some fairly major life changes, but the general public knows little about what has happened because their famous reality show aired its last episode over a decade ago.
Life after reality stardom
So, just what happened to Abby and Brittany Hensel after the end of their reality television show? In the short term, the two became teachers. They both teach at Sunnyside Elementary School in New Brighton, Minnesota. For longtime fans, it’s rewarding to know that the twins continued the journey into education that we saw them begin at the end of their reality show.
Beyond their choice of vocation, though, the most interesting thing about the conjoined twins’ lives since their reality stardom ended is that Abby got married. She wed Josh Bowling in 2021, but despite her celebrity status, Abby has fought hard to keep her family life private. However, late last year, we got some very surprising updates about both her husband and her child thanks to some social media posts.
An election-year surprise
On October 30th, 2024, Abby and Brittany took to TikTok with a special message for their followers. They were encouraging everyone to vote in the upcoming elections, though they didn’t endorse a specific candidate. However, their fans were far less interested in who they voted for, as much asin what they were sharing in their latest photos.
For example, we were treated to some never-before-seen photos from Abby Hensel’s wedding. This included an adorable family photo where the twins posed with Josh as well as his daughter Isabella. In another photo from the big day, Isabella is holding a bouquet of flowers and posing in front of the conjoined twins while Abby holds tightly to her new husband.
The final wedding day shot included in these photos featured Abby and Josh in front of the altar directly before they said those two magic wedding words: “I do.” Aside from these amazing wedding pics, the TikTok post included an assorted smattering of other pictures, including ones where the family is scarfing down on ice cream and ones where they are exploring the great outdoors (honestly, we’d rather be eating the ice cream ourselves!).
Photos spread across the different seasons
As you can tell, October 30th, 2024 was a big day for fans of Abby and Brittany Hensel because their TikTok post encouraging followers to vote gave us a sweet glimpse into their family lives. Nobody really expected to get another glimpse anytime soon after that. However, the very next day, they made a post that gave us even more insight into their unusual family dynamic.
On Halloween, the twins took to TikTok again to post a series of photos set to Kelsey Hart’s song “Life with You.” While these were only still images, the whole thing had the air of a music video thanks to its fun visual theme in which the twins showed us their past year, season by season. This ranged from winter photos where everyone bundled up for warmth to summer photos where everyone posed for some fun in the sun. Careful observers may also notice Brittany’s hair changing throughout the different seasons, oscillating between blonde and darker blonde.
One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is our fascination with these conjoined twins. And as always, discovering something new about their fascinating lives has merely left us wanting more!