Thirty-six years ago, two little girls were born in an orphanage in South Korea.
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For unknown reasons, the identical twins were separated and adopted by two different families in the U.S. Molly Sinert went to live in Florida, while her sister, Emily Bushnell, landed in Pennsylvania.
Neither Molly nor Emily ever knew she had a sister. They both grew up in loving homes and had happy childhoods, but they always felt like something was missing from their lives. It wasn’t until just before they turned 36 that they figured out what that missing piece was.
Emily’s 11-year-old daughter Isabel knew her mom was adopted and was curious about that side of her family. She asked Emily to take a DNA test, but when Emily was reluctant, Isabel took the test instead. Meanwhile, Molly wanted more information about her health history, so she took a DNA test as well. When they got the results back, they were all incredibly confused.
“I clicked on the close relative and I didn’t understand it,” Molly told Good Morning America. “You share 49.96 percent DNA with this person. We predict that she’s your daughter. This is obviously not right, because I’ve never gone into labor, I don’t have children.”
They had no idea that Isabel showed up on Molly’s results as a possible daughter because, as identical twins, Molly and Emily share the same DNA. Molly exchanged messages with Isabel, and they soon figured out what had happened.
Not only did Molly have a niece, but she also had an identical twin sister she’d never even met!
Once the long-lost siblings began corresponding, they realized they’d been living curiously parallel lives. Both were adopted by Jewish families, both had a black and white cat they loved as a child, and both wore the same hairstyles for most of their lives. In fact, the two of them were practically indistinguishable at their high school proms.
“Our senior prom picture … we were both wearing a beaded dress with a strapless style and our hair was exactly the same,” Emily said. “I realized this is probably one of the many twin moments we’ll discover.”
The sisters bonded over texts and emails, but they decided not to video chat until they could meet in person. On their 36th birthday, they did just that!
Both women were in tears as they embraced their identical twin for the very first time.
“A hole was immediately filled in my heart,” Emily said. “Although I have family who love me and adore me and have been absolutely wonderful, there was always a feeling of disconnection. Finding out that I had an identical twin sister just made everything so clear. It all makes sense.”
Molly agreed that the reunion was the “happiest moment” of her life. While they are naturally sad to have missed the first 36 years of their lives together, they’re looking forward to forming a close relationship going forward!
“I’m very grateful and excited for what lies ahead,” Emily added.
It seems that Isabel’s curiosity was an instrument of fate! We’re so glad these two sisters found one another at long last. There’s nothing more powerful than a family’s love!
Watch their reunion in the video below, and share this story to wish Molly and Emily well as they get to know each other.
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