Twins who were conjoined at birth are now working as elementary school teachers

Abby and Brittany Hensel were born on March 7, 1990, and have been conjoined since birth. They got quite popular in media after appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show in April 1996 and being featured in Life Magazine in September 1998, reports Distractify. During their adolescence, Abby and Brittany landed their own TLC reality show where they talked about their lives and health complications while being conjoined. The twins' show, which aired for one season, chronicled their lives before, during, and after college graduation.

Abby and Brittany are elementary school teachers in New Brighton, Minnesota, as of today. The twins teach fourth and fifth grade with a focus on arithmetic, and their kids adore them.

The twins are dicephalic parapagus twins, which means they have two heads on one torso. After finding that both Abby and Brittany were unlikely to survive the separation surgery, their parents decided against it. Many critical organs are shared by the sisters, including an enlarged liver, a bladder, a diaphragm, reproductive and digestive systems, and intestines. Each twin is in charge of one arm and one leg, which necessitates a significant lot of teamwork to execute simple actions like walking, running, and driving a car.

Abby and Brittany grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Mayer Lutheran High School in 2008. They attended Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minn. with a degree in Education by 2012. After their graduation and TLC series, the twins have kept a very low profile with no presence on social media. Their last post on their joint Instagram account dates back to 2015. They have gotten enormous public attention ever since their birth and wanted to lead a life away from the limelight. They both are elementary school teachers with two separate degrees and licenses, however, they still are paid a single paycheck.

Abby spoke about this in 2013 with BBC, "Obviously, right away, we understand that we are going to get one salary because we're doing the job of one person." She added, "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." In a report by Naked Stories in 2018, the twins revealed that the school had offered them two separate contracts. They were working part-time and instead of receiving the full salary their compensation was split into two.

While the doctors had announced at their birth that they wouldn't survive the night, the twins went ahead to establish a great life for themselves. They love activities such as bowling, volleyball, cycling, softball, and swimming, as well as playing the piano, with Abby taking the right-hand parts and Brittany taking the left.