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Identical twin sisters who believe they have psychic abilities say their fights always bring them closer together

Jessica Dunagan and Christina Manning are an identical sister duo featured on TLC's series "Extreme Sisters."
Jessica Dunagan and Christina Manning are an identical sister duo featured on TLC's series "Extreme Sisters."TLC
  • Jessica Dunagan and Christina Manning are identical twin sisters who work as psychics.

  • On season two of "Extreme Sisters," they argue over the details of Manning's home birth with her husband John.

  • They told Insider that their feud was tough, but brought them closer together.

Identical twin sisters Christina Manning and Jessica Dunagan have lived parallel lives for as long as they can remember, getting married in the same year, having overlapping pregnancies, and then getting divorced at the same time.

The 39-year old twins also say they have psychic abilities, a skill they use in their separate business ventures and to help each other navigate life changes.

Manning and Dunagan, who are featured on TLC's series "Extreme Sisters," said they had to reckon with their changing life paths during season two of the show, especially when Christina announced she was pregnant. During season one, Christina dated her now-husband John Zloty while Jessica remained single. Viewers watched as Jessica, John, and Christina clashed about boundaries and how much time the sisters spend together.

They continued that argument into season two, when John and Jessica fought over who deserved to be in the room while Christina gave birth to her and John's baby. Though stressful, the conflict taught Christina how to set boundaries, she told Insider.

Both sisters also said their disagreement, like any, was proof they can get through anything together.

"We tend to just hash stuff out. But at the end of the day, we always come back from it stronger. We try to learn a lesson from it and we tried to figure out what we can do to be better," Christina told Insider.

Jessica said it was difficult to accept the quick changes in her sister's life

Jessica told Insider she's never felt jealous of her twin Christina, but she does worry about being left out of her life.

Until Christina met her husband John during season one of "Extreme Sisters," the twins enjoyed single life together. Before that, they lived on the same street in identical houses and both had recently married and given birth to babies, Christina said. They both also went on to get divorced.

But when Christina got into a relationship with John while Jessica remained single, she said she noticed a shift in their relationship. Jessica said she noticed it, too.

 

"My sister changed so fast and became, to me, a new person. All of a sudden, we had to have a new dynamic and all of these new rules," like spending less time together, Jessica told Insider.

In response, Christina said it felt "unfair" that Jessica expect her to not change the dynamic.

"If she had a new relationship, I would know like, 'OK, she's not going to be able to give me as much time because she's with her guy,'" Christina told Insider. She also said John added to the pressure of the situation when he suggested how she should spend time with her sister.

They put their differences aside for the baby and say they're stronger because of it

Both sisters said they could have benefited from more understanding, both from each other and from John, while filming "Extreme Sisters" and going through big life changes.

That lack of understanding came to a head during season two when John and Jessica debated who should get to be in the room while Christina gave birth at home. John told Christina he worried that Jessica would take charge and detract from his first moments of fatherhood, and Jessica said she was upset about potentially being left out when she's used to doing everything with her twin.

When John and Jessica confronted each other about their desires for Christina's home birth, she shut down and began to cry.

Christina said that she later told John and Jessica that they had to be more respectful to each other for the sake of her stress, which helped.

"I was mad at both of them because I felt like they were putting me in an uncomfortable situation," Christina told Insider. She said she sent John and Jessica a long and detailed text message about how their fight was "not only hurting me, but it's hurting the baby."

She said that she tried to understand both her sister's and husband's points of view before acting, but ultimately told them they had to work through their conflict without her.

"I wasn't going just choose a side because I truly understood where each one was coming from. Plus I was trying to do something different than what I had done in my first marriage, which was always pick my sister," Christina said.

In filming season two, Jessica said she learned she doesn't have to voice all of her opinions to her sister.

"I learned I can be happy for my sister in any moment of her journey, regardless of whether it's something that I feel off about, or if doesn't ring true to me in certain moment," Jessica told Insider.

On the final episode of "Extreme Sisters," which airs on March 29 at 9 p.m. ET on TLC, viewers will find out how Christina's home birth unfolded.

Read the original article on Insider