Abby and Brittany Hensel have spent their lives navigating a world that wasn’t designed with them in mind — and they’ve done it with more grace and skill than many do in a world tailored just for them.
In 2012, they both graduated from Bethel University, each earning a degree in education. They each passed their own teaching license exams, and they have their own legal identities, social security numbers, and passports. Since 2013, they’ve been teaching math to fourth and fifth graders at an elementary school in New Brighton, Minnesota — two individuals sharing one job in one sense, and in another, two people each fulfilling their own roles.
The question of their salary often comes up, but it turns out to be the least fascinating aspect of their story.
We never wish we were separated. Because then we wouldn't get to do the things we can do — play softball, meet new people, run.
ABBY AND BRITTANY HANSEL, NBC BAY AREA, 2006
Who Are Abby and Brittany Hensel?
Before the salary debate, the teaching career, and the viral posts — there is the story of two people who, from the very first day of their lives, were told the odds were against them.
Born Against the Odds
When Abby and Brittany Hensel came into the world, their parents, Patty and Mike Hensel, found themselves in a heart-wrenching situation: should they risk a perilous separation surgery or embrace the idea of keeping their twins together? After discovering that the chances of both girls making it through a separation were slim, they made the tough choice to let them remain conjoined. It's a rare occurrence, with only about one in every 200,000 live births resulting in conjoined twins, and dicephalic parapagus twins—those with two heads sharing one body—often don’t make it to adulthood.
Two Individuals, One Body
Abby and Brittany share some vital organs like a heart, stomach, spine, a pair of lungs, and a spinal cord. However, each twin has control over one arm and one leg—Abby manages the right side while Brittany takes care of the left. Their nervous systems are completely independent, so Abby can't feel anything on Brittany's side, and vice versa.
Always Encouraged to Be Individuals
Their parents always motivated them to form their own opinions. A seamstress has tailored some of the twins' outfits to feature two distinct necklines, highlighting their unique personalities. While they typically enjoy their own meals, there are times when they opt to share a single dish just to keep things simple.
A Childhood Spent in the Public Eye
The twins made their debut on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 8 and 29, 1996, and graced the cover of Life magazine with the intriguing caption "One Body, Two Souls." Fast forward to 2012, they took center stage again with their own TLC reality series, Abby and Brittany, which followed their journey through college graduation and the start of their careers. After that, they chose to step back from the limelight and focus on living their lives.
The Education — Two Degrees, Two Licenses, One Classroom
Getting to the front of a classroom required more from Abby and Brittany than it does from most teachers — in ways that go beyond the obvious.
A Shared Path Through School
The twins grew up in Minnesota, where they graduated from Mayer Lutheran High School in 2008. They then went on to Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minnesota, to pursue their passion for education. Although they considered majoring in different subjects, they ultimately decided against it, realizing it would require a lot more coursework. In the end, they both earned their degrees in education.
Two Degrees, Separately Earned
Abby and Brittany both earned their degrees in education from Bethel University in 2012. Back in high school, they only had to cover one set of tuition fees, but they did pay two sets of registration fees. When they got to university, teachers occasionally placed a sheet or a book between them during exams to stop any copying. It’s an interesting precaution, especially since they would need to speak out loud to share answers anyway!
Two Licenses, Two Exams
They both successfully completed their teaching license exams on their own, each earning their own individual teaching certificate. Additionally, they tackled their driving tests separately, since Minnesota state law mandates that each of them must have their own license, even though they share a single body that requires them to work together seamlessly to drive.
Walking Into the Classroom
Abby and Brittany stepped into the teaching world in 2013, and here we are in 2025, still finding them inspiring fifth graders at Sunnyside Elementary in New Brighton, Minnesota. Abby dives into the realms of math and science, while Brittany brings her flair for language arts to the mix. Together, they create a dynamic classroom environment, each contributing their unique skills and viewpoints simultaneously.
The Salary — One Paycheck, Two People, One Debate
This is the part that keeps resurfacing — and the part that requires the most nuance to get right.
What Abby Said in 2013
When the topic of pay was brought up, Abby shared with the BBC, "Right from the start, we knew we’d be receiving one salary since we’re essentially doing the work of one person. However, as we gain more experience, we’d like to have the opportunity to negotiate a bit, especially since we hold two degrees and can offer two different perspectives or teach in two distinct ways." This is an important detail — the one-salary setup wasn’t something forced upon them. Abby made it clear that they were aware of this arrangement from the beginning, while still leaving the possibility for future discussions open.
A Key Update From 2018
Fast forward to 2018, Abby and Brittany shared that their school had actually presented them with two separate contracts. Since they were working part-time, they each ended up with half of one salary, which was split between them. Their pay was divided equally, so each twin got her own individual share of the combined earnings instead of just one lump sum for both.
What the School Gets
While the school benefits from double the expertise, it only has to cover the cost of one. Each class is led by two qualified, licensed educators, bringing a wealth of knowledge to the front. Every week, there are two sets of lesson plans crafted, and every teaching decision is shaped by two unique perspectives. Yet, the salary budget only accounts for one.
The Argument on Both Sides
There’s a debate going on about whether teachers who earn two degrees and pass two licensing exams should be compensated with two separate salaries. Some people believe that since they’ve put in the effort to achieve both qualifications, they deserve to be paid accordingly. On the flip side, others argue that since a teacher can only be in one classroom at a time, one salary is the fair way to go. A compromise that’s been tossed around online is the idea of paying them one and a half salaries, which recognizes their dual qualifications while also acknowledging the reality that they can’t be in two places at once.
Life Beyond the Classroom
The salary question is the one that goes viral. The life the twins have built around it is the more remarkable story.
A Private Life, Deliberately Chosen
After their TLC show wrapped up in 2012, Abby and Brittany pretty much faded from the spotlight. They haven’t done any major interviews since then, turned down most media inquiries, and have settled into a peaceful, private life in New Brighton—the Minnesota town where they grew up. These days, what we know about their lives mostly comes from public records, a few social media updates, and insights from those who are close to them.
Abby's Marriage to Josh Bowling
According to public records, Abby and Josh Bowling, who is a nurse and a United States Army veteran, got married in 2021. They call Minnesota home, the place where the Hensels grew up. It's important to note that only Abby is legally married to Josh, while Brittany is still single. This legal distinction brings up some intriguing questions about marriage, consent, and legal identity for conjoined individuals, and unfortunately, there aren’t any easy answers to those questions.
Josh Bowling — Who He Is
Josh Bowling sees himself as a Christian, a devoted father, a loving husband, a proud veteran, and an occasional gamer. He served as a healthcare specialist in the US Army from 2010 to 2024, completing three deployments overseas before transitioning to a role as a hospice nurse. In a heartfelt interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune, Bowling shared that his work feels like a true calling. He reflected on his experiences, saying, "I dealt with a lot of death and dying — the bad version of it. If there's a chance to offer someone a peaceful death instead of what I was used to, I was all in."
A New Chapter in 2025
In August 2025, the twins were seen with a newborn in Arden Hills, Minnesota, igniting a flurry of speculation about whether they had welcomed a new addition to their family. So far, Abby, Brittany, and Josh have kept quiet about whether the baby is theirs. Back in a 2003 documentary, the twins shared their hopes of becoming mothers, and their mom mentioned that it was indeed physically possible for them.
What Their Story Actually Means
The salary debate, the marriage, the viral posts — all of it keeps coming back because Abby and Brittany Hensel represent something the world still does not quite know how to process.
A Legal System Not Built for Them
Abby and Brittany each possess their own birth certificates, passports, and social security numbers — they are two legally distinct individuals recognized by the state in every important way. However, the same legal system that acknowledges their separate identities lacks a framework to guarantee that two distinct individuals performing the same job receive two separate paychecks. This disconnect between how the law views them as individuals and how institutions treat them as employees has never been officially addressed.
Two People Who Made It Work Anyway
Parents often rave about their kindness and unique teaching style, seeing them as true role models with an innate talent for education. Their students absolutely love them, and the twins have consistently returned to the same classroom, teaching the same kids, for over ten years now, all without turning their salary situation into a public complaint or making it a news story.
Why the Story Keeps Resurfacing
The reason this story keeps making the rounds every few years isn't just about the salary. It's really about a deeper question: how does a world designed for individual, separate people make room for two individuals who, in some ways, are one — yet in every other aspect, are completely unique?
The Honest Answer
Abby gave the most straightforward answer possible: "We know we're only going to receive one salary since we're doing the work of one person." She also hinted that there might be room for negotiation down the line as they gained more experience. Fast forward over ten years, and neither twin has brought up that negotiation publicly, which indicates that, at the very least, they've managed to come to terms with a situation that many of us are still debating on their behalf.
