TikTok users Carmen Andrade and Lupita Andrade addressed questions related to the conjoined twin community in a recently resurfaced video.
The 23-year-old sisters are conjoined at the torso and share a bloodstream and reproductive organs, similar to reality stars Abby Hensel and Brittany Hensel.
In the December 2022 TikTok video, Lupita said, "We're gonna do an FAQ because some of you don't shut the f--k up on videos that have nothing to do with our bodies.
So FAQ." Carmen then took over the video and clarified that they are two separate people.
She added that if one of them is tired, the other doesn't necessarily have to be tired because they have two separate brains.
One can be awake, while the other can be asleep.
They also clarified that they cannot control each other's limbs or "halves" of their body, nor can they read each other's minds.
However, since they share a bloodstream, they both feel the effects of consuming alcohol or drugs.
According to Today, they are highly intuitive to each other's emotions, and each sister can tell if the other feels anxious or sad.
Carmen also explained that they share a bloodstream, which means that sepsis will occur eventually.
If one of them dies, the other will also pass away within a few hours or days.
But since they are both alive, she questioned why people always ask about it and whether they are doctors.
Meanwhile, their driving process is very similar to Abby and Brittany. Carmen controls the pedals while Lupita controls the lights and signal.
Carmen is currently in a relationship with her boyfriend Daniel McCormack and shared that only she dates him.
While Lupita identified as asexual clarified, "I don't want anyone," in an interview with Today in April 2023.
They can't get pregnant due to endometriosis and hormone blockers.
"Lupita and I can't get pregnant, we have endometriosis and we're also on a hormone blocker that prevents us from menstruating."
They often get asked silly questions about their connection which they answer to keep their followers from continuously prodding.
Carmen and Lupita also complete separate tests and assignments.
Abby and Brittany were born on March 7, 1990, and are conjoined twins who share a body.
They were born with three arms but had one removed as it wasn’t functional.
Patty and Mike Hensel, their parents, chose to keep them conjoined as they were able to live a full, healthy life together.
"We never wish we were separated," Abby and Brittany both explained in the 2007 documentary. "Because then we wouldn't get to do the things we can do—play softball, meet new people, run."
Abby and Brittany share a close bond and often anticipate what the other will say when curating an email or online message.
They refer to themselves as one person, unless they disagree, in those cases, they'll say "Abby says" or "Brittany says."
They have expressed their understanding of people's curiosity toward their lives, but they hate it when people take pictures of them without permission.
“We absolutely hate when people take pictures of us,” Abby explained in 2007. “And we will throw a fit about it, and make them embarrassed.”
“While they are unique, the family wants to treat them like they are just like anyone else,” the family’s doctor Joy Westerdahl explained in 2007. “I have to be mindful of the family’s wishes not to get too involved.”
Abby’s Blended Family
In 2021, nurse and veteran Abby married Josh Bowling, gaining an 8-year-old stepdaughter named Isabella.
Abby and Brittany have always talked about starting a family.
"Yeah, we're going to be moms," Brittany said in Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16 in 2006. "We haven't thought about how being moms is going to work yet."
In 2012, a one-season reality show called Abby & Brittany aired, which depicted the women's lives as they finished college and entered adulthood.
Despite being in their thirties now, Abby and Brittany have kept their lives private since then.
Life Outside the Spotlight
Abby and Brittany teach fifth grade together at an elementary school in Minnesota.
Initially, they were not salaried but were given separate contracts and split their pay.
Abby is strong in math and science, while Brittany is more focused on language arts and reading.
