Abby and Brittany Hensel are legally two different people – but they can only earn one salary. Photo / abbybrittanyhensel, Instagram
Abby and Brittany Hensel are legally two different people – but they can only earn one salary. Photo / abbybrittanyhensel, Instagram
Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel are considered two separate individuals in every sense of the matter except one – and the revelation has left many horrified.
The 34-year-olds were born with dicephalic parapagus, where two heads are attached to a single body.
Each of the women have their ownbrain, heart, stomach and lungs, but share the same organs below the waist as well as the same bloodstream.
They can also write, eat, run and drive a car, both independently and in perfect sync, thanks to their co-ordinated brains and nervous systems.
But while they are legally individuals, meaning they can enter into contracts, and even get married individually – Abby tied the knot to US army veteran Josh Bowling in 2021 – it has recently emerged the pair are struggling to be acknowledged as individuals in the workplace.
The American sisters, who work as fifth-grade teachers in Minnesota, revealed they divide up their responsibilities at work but only receive one single wage, which they share between them.
“Obviously right away we understand that we are going to get one salary because we’re doing the job of one person,” Abby, who controls the right side of their shared body, told the BBC previously.
“As maybe experience comes in we’d like to negotiate a little bit, considering we have two degrees and because we are able to give two different perspectives or teach in two different ways.”
Brittany, the left-side conjoined twin, added: “One can be teaching and one can be monitoring and answering questions. So in that sense we can do more than one person.”
Some argued it was "unfair" on the conjoined twins, who paid for two separate university degrees to qualify for the shared teaching job. Photo / abbybrittanyhensel, Instagram
However, to qualify as teachers, the pair were considered as individuals within the school system and had to pay and pass two separate degrees at university.
While the comments about their earnings were made in 2013, they have recently resurfaced on social media, and in light of a very different climate almost 12 years on, the situation isn’t sitting well with people.
“Abby and Brittany, the well-known conjoined twins, had to pay two separate college tuition fees but now earn only one salary at their job,” a recent post shared by a pop culture Instagram account reads.
They have their own personalities, and Abby even married a US army veteran in 2021. Photo / abbybrittanyhensel, Instagram
Many were quick to flood the comments section, declaring it “doesn’t seem fair”, as others questioned whether one could claim benefits if her physical situation was prohibiting her from getting her own job.
“Whatever university made these conjoined twins pay two tuitions needs to lose their accreditation,” one raged.
“They are twins, two individuals. Doing this implies they’re each only half a person, it’s inexcusable,” added another.
As one declared: “Makes zero sense.”
“That is shocking they are two different people two different brains they need two salaries,” one woman weighed in.
“This is disgusting behaviour from the powers that be!!” argued someone else.
Some also pointed out the situation was “complicated”, adding it was hard to land on what the “right thing to do” is given the rarity of their circumstances.
Abby and Brittany rose to fame on a reality show that chronicled their major life events, including high school graduation and job hunting.
The duo originally appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996.
When growing up, their parents Patty and Mike encouraged them to be their own selves and they both developed very different personalities and tastes.
Abby is known as the feisty, stubborn one, while Brittany is considered the joker of the family.
