Conjoined Twin Girls Get Their Own Reality TV Show

Conjoined Twin Girls Get Their Own Reality TV Show

TLC

Twins Abby and Brittany Hensel, 22, were not expected to survive when they were born in Minnesota, USA, in 1990.

The girls are conjoined with separate heads and bodies above the waist, but a shared torso, bladder and female reproductive system.

The girls' reality TV show is about to air in the States, but up until now, they have managed to avoid publicity, living a quiet life in their small town. Now, they are set to become celebrities as the show chronicles their graduation from uni, their travels to Europe, and their hunt for jobs.

Despite being conjoined, the girls insist they are completely different people and have their own unique personalities. They both want to marry and have their own children, and say they are going to be 'great moms one day'.

The girls - who had a partially-formed third arm removed when they were 12 - are joined side by side, and have two spines which are joined at the pelvis, two hearts, two stomachs, three kidneys, two gall bladders, four lungs – two are joined– a liver, one ribcage, a shared circulatory system and both partially share their nervous systems.

TLC

Their parents, Patty, 46, a nurse, and Mike, 47, a carpenter, say they never considered separating their daughters as it would have left them both confined to wheelchairs and with just one arm and leg each.

Proud Patty said she though they were 'beautiful' from the first moment they saw them.

"I kissed Abigail and then Brittany and gave them both a hug. It's been like that ever since – two kisses and a hug for the most beautiful children in the world."

Brittany has no sensation on the right side of her body, whilst Abby feels nothing on the left, but between them they have co-ordinated their arms and legs to enable them to walk, run, swim and drive - and even to scratch the other twin's itches!

The girls have a younger brother Dakota, 20, and sister Morgan, 18, and say they were not treated any differently growing up in their town of just 300 people, but that strangers would often stare and want to photograph them - but their family instilled in them the confidence to cope and to be individuals:

"When children ask if they have two heads, they say they don't. They each have their own," says their mum, adding "That's what we have encouraged them to do, to develop their own individuality as much as possible."

What amazing girls - we can't wait to see their TV show! You can watch the trailer and see more of Abby and Brittany in our video and gallery below.

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