Conjoined twin Abby Hensel did not list her sister Brittany as a witness during wedding
Abby Hensel did not list her conjoined twin sister, Brittany, as a witness for her wedding to husband Josh Bowling.
According to the couple’s marriage certificate, which was obtained by TMZ, Abby listed their other sister, Morgan Hensel, as a witness, in addition to someone named Cosmo Naut. Last week, it was revealed that Abby privately married Bowling in 2021.
For the wedding, Abby and Brittany wore a white lace wedding gown and held a bouquet of flowers, while Bowling wore a grey suit and an orange tie.
Abby and Brittany Hensel are dicephalus conjoined twins, a rare form of conjoined twins who are “fused side-by-side with the same pelvis,” as noted by the National Institute of Health. Their two heads are on one torso, while they have separate brains, hearts, and other organs. They share all organs below the waist and bloodstream, with Abby controlling the right arm and leg and Brittany controlling the left arm and leg.
Public records obtained by Today were first able to confirm that Bowling and Hensel had tied the knot and were currently living in Minnesota, where Abby and Brittany teach fifth grade and Bowling works as a nurse.
The twins – who were born in 1990 – first publicly shared their story in 1996, when they appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2012, they were in their own TLC reality show, Abby & Brittany, which followed their lives after they graduated from Minnesota’s Bethel College and were preparing to go to Europe for a teaching job.
“People have been curious about us since we were born, for obvious reasons,” the twins said during the first episode of the series, as reported by ABC News. “But our parents never let us use that as an excuse. We were raised to believe we could do anything we wanted to do.”
In the reality show, they also opened up about how they coordinate everyday activities with each other, from getting ready for a party to grabbing groceries from the shelves in their home.
“When it comes to decisions, there are compromises we have to make,” Abby said. “We take turns. We want to work it so each of us is happy and we find a happy medium.”
Recently, court documents obtained by E News revealed that Bowling had a paternity lawsuit filed against him in October 2023.
Prior to his marriage with Abby, Bowling was married to Annica Bowling, who filed the suit against him and one other individual. Five months later, in March 2024, a genetic test was filed but the results have not been shared publicly.
The former couple was married for nine years before formalising their divorce in 2020, according to E News. They also share an eight-year-old who has a “half sister,” according to the divorce documents.
After spending the last few years away from the spotlight, the twins recently took to their TikTok page to share messages regarding the now-public marriage.
One video featured various images of conjoined twins statues with a caption that read: “The internet is extra LOUD today. We have always been around.”
Though they’ve yet to speak directly about the wedding, the twins appeared to recently clap back at any critics.
“This is a message to all the haters out here,” a 29 March TikTok video also noted. “If you don’t like what I do but watch everything I’m doing, you’re still a fan.”
