Us non-twins have always been fascinated by twins. Not only is the way they instinctively finish each other's sentences amusing to watch, but it's evident that the majority of twins are anxious to carve out their own path, separate to that of their counterpart's. Now, while there are many incredible stories about twins, identical or otherwise, some of the most fascinating ones are about those who were separated at birth and ended up reuniting later in life. Often these long lost twins end up discovering that they're eerily similar to each other, despite being brought up in different households and living thousands of miles apart...
Such is the story of identical twin sisters, Amanda Dunford and Katey Bennet, who were separated at birth in Korea. Though they grew up in different parts of the US after being adopted by American parents, the pair finally reunited, 33 years later.
While Amanda Dunford and Katey Bennett once shared a womb, they both led wholly different lives after being adopted by American parents.
Bennett was left on the steps of an orphanage, and Dunford was found tethered to a pole in the home of a street vendor, but despite these odds, they finally reunited 33 years later, thanks to DNA testing service 23andMe.
Dunford was always aware that there was a chance that she had a sister. Her adoptive family, who were located in Arizona, were informed, but Katey had already been adopted. No further information was given, so Dunford later took a DNA test from the service in 2013. Though she was able to find a distant cousin, who she is still in touch with, there was no sign of a sister.
This all changed when Bennett, who grew up in California, decided to take the 23andMe DNA test last year.
The results informed her that she had a 100 per cent DNA match with someone who had already taken the test, and next to Amanda's name were the words "identical twin sister".
As she had never been told that there was a chance she could have a sister, Bennett was completely gobsmacked. "I had gone my whole life with such doubt I'd ever find anyone blood-related to me," she said to WKTR. "It was easier to deny it and say it's not real. Because I didn't want to let my barriers down and really believe it," she added.
There was no denying the truth, however. Bennet promptly tracked down Dunford on social media and realised that their resemblance was uncanny. She sent a message to her twin through 23andMe which read "It says you may be my sister".
Dunford and Bennett's first phone conversation lasted for nine hours, because as you can imagine, they had a lot to catch up on. They then set up a Skype call - an experience which Bennet described as being "surreal". "I felt like I was talking to myself the entire time," she told Today.
The twins quickly discovered that although they grew up in different states, their experiences were freakishly similar. Both Dunford and Bennett failed high-school algebra in the same year, and both passed their driving test on the second try. "So many events in our life have matched up at the exact same time," Bennett corroborated.
However, they do have different birthdays. While Bennett's birth certificate states that she was born on December 25th 1983, Dunford's is listed as being January 13th 1984. While the sisters plan on keeping the birthdays that they've had their whole lives, they now have someone new to celebrate with.
"It's crazy that you just have this instant love for someone and a connection," Dunford asserted. "We missed 33 years of our lives together but I felt like we just picked it up so easily. We have a lot to catch up on."