Abby and Brittany Hensel are alive, healthy, and teaching fifth grade in Minnesota. If that surprises you, it’s because fake news sites have spent months spreading fabricated stories about the conjoined twins.
The truth? There’s been no medical emergency, no death, no tragedy. Just a private marriage, relentless online harassment, and a pile of AI-generated clickbait designed to trick worried readers.
Table of Contents
What Actually Happened
The Secret Marriage (2021)
Abby Hensel married Josh Bowling, an Army veteran and nurse, in November 2021. The ceremony was private. The couple kept it quiet for more than two years.
Public records surfaced in March 2024, and news outlets confirmed the marriage. Josh had been previously married to Annica Bowling from 2010 to 2019. He has a daughter, Isabella, born in 2016.
The Paternity Case
In October 2023, Josh’s ex-wife filed a paternity lawsuit regarding a child born in 2020. By March 2024, when the marriage story broke, genetic testing had already resolved the case. Josh was proven not to be the biological father.
The timing made headlines messier. Some outlets conflated the two stories, while others used the lawsuit to question the twins’ relationship.
The Online Attacks
When the marriage became public knowledge in March 2024, the response was brutal. Right-wing commentators called the twins’ existence “tragic.” Social media filled with invasive questions about intimacy, consent, and how marriage could possibly work for conjoined twins.
Critics didn’t ask. They demanded answers to questions that were none of their business.
By November 2024, Abby and Brittany had enough. They posted a TikTok video set to Sia’s “Unstoppable,” showing screenshots of headlines calling their life “sad” and a “shocking tragedy.” The video was a middle finger to everyone who thought they deserved a say in how the twins lived.
The Baby Question
Paparazzi photographed the twins in August 2025 placing a car seat with a baby into their vehicle. They posted the photos on TikTok with one word: “Blessed.”
Reporters contacted Josh Bowling in September 2025. He refused to confirm or deny anything about a baby.
No hospital has released birth records. No credible news source has confirmed a pregnancy. The baby could have been Isabella, a friend’s child, or a student. Nobody knows, and the twins aren’t telling.
Where They Are Now
Abby and Brittany still teach at Sunnyside Elementary School in New Brighton, Minnesota. They’re 35 years old. They share a body with two heads, two spines, two hearts, and separate control over one arm and one leg each.
They graduated from Bethel University in 2012 with degrees in education. They passed their teaching exams. They got jobs. They bought a house. Abby got married.
Medical experts consider them the longest-living dicephalic parapagus twins on record. Most conjoined twins of this type don’t survive infancy. Abby and Brittany have lived more than three decades.
The Fake News Problem
Search for their names and you’ll find dozens of garbage websites claiming:
- Severe health complications in 2024 (false)
- Life-threatening conditions requiring surgery (false)
- They gave birth to six babies in 2013 (absurdly false)
- One or both have died (false)
These articles come from AI content farms with names designed to sound legitimate. They cite no sources. They quote no doctors. They report nothing that actually happened.
They exist because “sad news” gets clicks. Worried people share articles before reading them. Algorithms reward engagement, not accuracy.
Why This Matters
Abby and Brittany grew up on television. They appeared on Oprah as children, starred in a TLC documentary series, and have been interviewed by every major morning show. They never asked for privacy. They chose to share their story.
But they also chose what to share. Their medical details, yes. Their teaching careers, sure. Their childhood, absolutely.
Their marriage? That was supposed to be theirs.
The fact that strangers think they’re entitled to know whether Abby and Brittany have had a baby, how intimacy works, or what Josh thinks about being married to conjoined twins says more about society than it does about them.
They’ve spent 35 years proving they can do everything doctors said they couldn’t. They walk, drive, swim, play instruments, teach children, and live independently. Abby fell in love and got married.
The only tragedy here is that people keep looking for one.
Current status: Both twins are healthy, employed, and living their lives in Minnesota. No verified medical issues. No confirmed pregnancy. No drama beyond what the internet invented.
If you came here worried about Abby and Brittany Hensel, you can stop. They’re fine. They’ve always been fine. And they’ll probably outlive the fake news sites still trying to profit from their names.
