Husband of conjoined twin Abby Hensel faced paternity lawsuit after wedding
Abby Hensel’s husband, Josh Bowling, has had a paternity lawsuit filed against him.
Last week, it was revealed that Hensel, one of the conjoined twins from the reality show Abby & Brittany, privately married Bowling in 2021. Court documents obtained by E News have now revealed that the nurse and United States Army veteran had a paternity lawsuit filed against him in October 2023.
Prior to his marriage with Hensel, Bowling was married to Annica Bowling, who filed the suit against him and one other individual. Five months later, in March 2024, a genetic test was filed but the results have not been shared publicly.
The former couple was married for nine years before formalising their divorce in 2020, according to E News. They also share an eight-year-old who has a “half sister,” according to the divorce documents.
Public records obtained by Today were first able to confirm that Bowling and Hensel had tied the knot and were currently living in Minnesota where Abby and Brittany teach fifth grade and Bowling works as a nurse.
The twins – who were born in 1990 – first publicly shared their story in 1996, when they appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996. In 2012, they were in their own TLC reality show, Abby & Brittany, which followed their lives after they graduated from Minnesota’s Bethel College and were preparing to go to Europe for a teaching job.
“People have been curious about us since we were born, for obvious reasons,” the twins said during the first episode of the series, as reported by ABC News. “But our parents never let us use that as an excuse. We were raised to believe we could do anything we wanted to do.”
In the reality show, they also opened up about how they coordinate everyday activities with each other, from getting ready for a party to grabbing groceries from the shelves in their home.
“When it comes to decisions, there are compromises we have to make,” Abby said. “We take turns. We want to work it so each of us is happy and we find a happy medium.”
After spending the last few years away from the spotlight, the twins recently took to their TikTok page to share a couple of messages regarding the marriage.
One video featured various images of conjoined twins statues with a caption that read: “The internet is extra LOUD today. We have always been around.”
Though they’ve yet to speak directly about the wedding, the twins appeared to recently clap back at any critics.
“This is a message to all the haters out here,” a 29 March TikTok video also noted. “If you don’t like what I do but watch everything I’m doing, you’re still a fan.”
Abby and Brittany Hensel are dicephalus conjoined twins, a rare form of conjoined twins who are “fused side-by-side with the same pelvis,” as noted by the National Institute of Health. Their two heads are on one torso, as they have separate brains, hearts, and other organs. They share all organs below the waist and bloodstream, as Abby controls the right arm and leg and Brittany controls the left arm and leg.
