Conjoined twins Abby, Brittney Hensel respond to online marriage rumors

Though they have long been a subject of public curiosity, conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel recently seemed to confirm news that only served to amplify interest in their extraordinary lives, as People reports.

The former reality television stars, now 34, took to social media to respond to news that emerged earlier in the week that Abby had married military veteran Josh Bowling back in 2021, something that was not widely known.

In their posts, the sisters slammed critics they referred to as “haters” and derided those who have taken it upon themselves to offer public commentary on their private affairs.

A post that included a montage of photos of sculptures featuring other sets of conjoined twins was captioned, “The internet is extra LOUD today.”

The famous duo added, “We have always been around,” a statement followed by a heart and the hashtags #abbyandbrittanyhensel, #happy, #love, #lovestory, and #marriage.

Then, things took an even more concrete turn, when the pair posted a video in which the sisters can be seen in an embrace with Bowling, Abby's husband.

“This is for all you haters out there. If you don't like what I do but watch everything I'm doing – you're still a fan,”' they wrote.

A Facebook profile image for the sisters depicts them in a wedding gown, with their hands linked with those of Bowling, who is decked out in a suit.

Abby and her sister Brittany are known as dicephalus conjoined twins, meaning that they have separate heads but a shared torso.

The duo shares all organs that sit below the waist, and their bloodstream is also shared, according to People.

Though doctors were willing to attempt a separation surgery at the time of their birth, the women's parents decided against the procedure, fearful that their children would not survive the ordeal.

Observers around the world have long been fascinated by the rich lives the two have carved out for themselves and the independent personalities they have developed, and the recent marriage news has added a new element of curiosity into their story -- their potential for motherhood.

As the New York Post notes, Abby and Brittney have previously indicated their hopes to become parents someday, but given their shared reproductive organs, the situation is fraught with questions and lingering uncertainty.

Even so, the girls said back when they were teens, “Yeah, we are going to be mums one day, but we don't want to talk about how it's going to work yet,” and with Abby's marriage now acknowledged, the issue may be coming to the forefront sooner rather than later.