Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel have amazed millions for years — but now, the question everyone’s been dying to get answered is finally making headlines: Could these sisters actually become mothers?
The conjoined twins first gained widespread attention in 1996 when, at just six years old, they made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Years later, their unique story was featured in the TLC reality series Abby & Brittany, which chronicled their experiences through college and into adult life.
“People have been curious about us since the day we were born — and understandably so,” they shared in one of the show’s early episodes.
“But our parents never allowed that to be an excuse. They raised us to believe we could achieve anything we set our minds to.”
Decided Against Separation
Abby and Brittany share a circulatory system and all organs below the waist. Abby controls the right arm and leg, while Brittany manages the left.
Their parents, Patty and Mike Hensel, chose not to pursue separation surgery after doctors explained that the odds of both girls surviving the procedure were extremely low, according to a report by Today.
“How could you choose one child over the other?” their father Mike told Time magazine in a 2001 interview.
Judging by how the twins are doing now, it’s clear they’ve built a fulfilling life.
In recent news, Abby quietly married Josh Bowling, a nurse and U.S. Army veteran. While the ceremony was kept out of the spotlight, public records confirm the couple tied the knot in 2021.
Since then, photos show Abby and Josh enjoying married life—traveling together and appearing genuinely happy.
But one question continues to spark curiosity: can Abby and Brittany become mothers? While many assume their conjoined condition would make pregnancy impossible, their mother, Patty, has offered a more hopeful perspective.
In the documentary Joined For Life, Patty revealed that both daughters have long expressed a strong desire to have children. She noted that their shared reproductive organs are functional, suggesting that motherhood may be possible for them.
During their teenage years, Abby and Brittany were open about wanting to become moms, though they’ve always valued their privacy.
In a documentary filmed when they were teens, the twins addressed the topic directly, as reported by The Telegraph.
“Yeah, we are going to be mums one day, but we don’t want to talk about how it’s going to work yet,” Abby said at the time.
Abby and Brittany have always emphasized their individuality, even while sharing one body—and their shared dream of becoming mothers remains a deeply personal aspiration.
But beyond questions of motherhood, many people are curious about how everyday life works for the twins. One frequently asked question is: how do they eat?
Although they each have separate stomachs and digestive systems, Abby and Brittany often choose to eat the same meal, usually with just one of them eating at a time. Since they share a bladder and excretory system, coordinating meals this way tends to be more convenient.
Private About Intimacy
Despite intense public interest, the twins have never spoken publicly about their intimate lives.
Because they share one set of genital organs, any physical touch in that area would be felt by both, explained Alice Dreger, a professor of medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University, in an article for The Atlantic.
As for whether both experience orgasm at the same time, Dreger noted, “we don’t know.” Sensation varies for each twin across different parts of the body, she said, making it difficult to predict how such intimate experiences work in practice.
There’s speculation that dicephalus twins—conjoined twins with two heads—might share orgasms due to shared nerves, muscles, and blood vessels. But again, no definitive answer is known.
What About Kissing?
When it comes to affection, things can also be complex. Dreger pondered, “The biology geek in me wants to say the happy hormones from a good kiss probably reach both brains. But the student of human nature in me says when your sister gets kissed and you don’t, it’s quite possible the unhappy hormones end up standing at the gate.”
She also suggested that conjoined twins might have less sexual activity than average—not necessarily due to lack of opportunity, but perhaps because their emotional and physical closeness to one another fulfills many needs that most people seek in romantic relationships.
As Abby enters married life with her husband, Josh, many are watching with curiosity and admiration. Will motherhood be part of their next chapter? Only time will tell.
For now, Abby and Brittany remain focused on living life their way—defying odds, challenging assumptions, and inspiring others every step of the way.
