This article was originally published on ParentMood
Checking the Test Results
Like all pregnant people, Briana and Brittany regularly made their way to the doctor's office for their checkups. They wanted to make sure that their babies were happy and healthy and that they could continue enjoying their pregnancy and their lives together. But when the doctor looked at the ultrasound screen and furrowed his brow, the identical twins could see that something was troubling him. And this worry heightened even further when he checked their blood work.
Naturally, Briana and Brittany didn't know what to do. All they could see and hear was their doctor staring at their charts, shaking his head, and whispering, "How is this possible?"
A Twin Thing
They say that you can never have any secrets when you're an identical twin, and Briana and Brittany know that better than anyone else. Like many other identical twins, they claim to have a connection like no other. They know when each other is sad, they know when each other is happy, and they know when their identical twin needs an extra hug. But when they both started dating, they both tried something new.
Previously, Briana and Brittany had told each other everything about their dates. But when they met two new men, they decided to keep their date's identities secret until they were sure they wanted to take the relationship further.
A Few Differences
While Briana and Brittany were the same in so many ways, they were also very different. Although they had similar tastes in men in terms of appearance, they also found different personality traits attractive - and this was shown by their own personality differences. For starters, Briana hated flying and going abroad, but Brittany was a jet-setter who wanted nothing more than to jump on as many flights as she could.
These differences put different men on their radar, but it also helped them get through some of the toughest years of their lives. After all, they relied on each other a lot during their troubled childhood.
Losing Faith in Doctors
When they were younger, Briana and Brittany spent a lot of their time in the hospital and in doctor's offices. They had a few health concerns, and sometimes, these scary episodes would come out of the blue and hit them when they least expected it. On one specific occasion, they were both struggling to breathe and they were experiencing immense pain throughout their whole body. However, the doctors didn't know how to help them.
Although their parents shouted at the doctors to help their children, the health professionals tried and failed to cure their pain. From that moment on, they lost faith in doctors and nurses.
Finding the One
As they got older, Briana and Brittany tried to put their horrific experiences behind them and focus on living their best lives as identical twins - but they still did things separately. And when they both attended the famous twins festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, they decided to go off on their own to explore the festivities. It was during this solo adventure that Briana bumped into a man by the name of Josh Salyers.
The two identical twins hit it off like a house on fire, and Briana was smitten. After the event, they decided to date in secret - but Briana had no idea that Brittany had a secret of her own.
Twins Dating Twins
When the day came for Briana to tell her identical twin that she had fallen in love and had a serious boyfriend, she was nervous. And while she had hoped that Brittany would understand her secretive decisions, she hadn't expected Brittany to look so shocked when she revealed the news. But this wasn't because she was upset. In fact, she was shocked because she had also been dating someone in secret.
Unbeknownst to Briana, Brittany had also met Josh Salyers's identical twin brother, Jeremy Salyers, at the same event. They had also hit it off, and also started to date in secret behind their siblings' backs.
One Big, Happy Family
Naturally, both sets of identical twins were shocked to learn that they had been dating each other, but when the shock settled, and they were able to take it all in, they realized that it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to them. The women had always worried that their partners would tear them apart, but falling in love with another set of twins meant that they could live as one, happy family.
They moved into a house as a foursome and seemed to have the perfect life. But they soon realized that life isn't a fairytale, and some stories don't have a happy ending.
Going to the Doctor
When Briana and Brittany fell pregnant at the same time, they couldn't quite believe their luck. Now their babies would grow up as best friends, just like they had done! But being pregnant came with a lot of visits to the doctor's office, which didn't sit well with Briana and Brittany. They were wary of such places and they just didn't know who to trust, but they ultimately knew it was the best decision for their babies.
But when the twins made their way into the doctor's office, the smell of disinfectant hit their nostrils and took them back to their troubled childhood years. They had a feeling that the doctor's needed a serious chat with them, and they were right.
Warning the Twins
Of course, this wasn't the first time that doctors had told them something they didn't want to hear. When Briana and Brittany first tried to get pregnant, they were already in their late thirties and knew that this could pose a few problems. To help them conceive, they visited a fertility doctor and explained their situation. They told them their ages, and they told them that they were also dating identical twins.
Normally, people's eyes lit up with joy and excitement when they told them their unusual story - but their fertility doctor wasn't excited. In fact, they actively warned the women against getting pregnant in such an unorthodox situation.
A Beautiful Double Proposal
As you can imagine, Briana and Brittany didn't give their fertility doctor's warning too much thought. They wanted to continue in their endeavours and build a family with their identical twin partners. Josh and Jeremy also thought the same, which is why they decided to do something that would change the rest of their lives; they proposed. They even planned a double proposal where they asked Briana and Brittany for their hands in marriage at the same time.
Naturally, the twins accepted the proposal and went on their way to plan their weddings and their future children together. And while they tried to forget the doctor's warning, it was still in the backs of their minds.
Making Headlines
Despite the niggles in the back of their minds, Briana and Brittany went full steam ahead, planning their wedding to their fellow identical twins. But the engagement didn't just take them by surprise. When the world learned of their news, it's fair to say that onlookers were intrigued. They had never seen identical twins date identical twins before, and a double twin wedding was something everyone wanted to see for themselves.
It wasn't long before TLC made them an offer they couldn't refuse. They offered the identical twins a large sum of money to film their whole wedding, and, of course, Briana and Brittany just couldn't turn it down.
A Newlywed Bubble
On the big day, Briana and Brittany wore exactly the same wedding gown and Josh and Jeremy Salyer wore exactly the same suit. Each couple looked like a mirror image of each other, and they suited the backdrop perfectly. In the end, Briana and Brittany had planned the ultimate fairytale wedding, and everything about the big day was perfect. They just couldn't wait to start their lives together and start one big, happy family.
In their newlywed bubble, Briana, Brittany, and their new husbands put more time and effort into their baby plans. It wasn't long until they both fell pregnant - and in true identical twin form, they fell pregnant at the exact same time.
Feeling Worried
The Salyer twins were over the moon to learn that they were both expecting babies at the same time, but for Briana - who had always been the more worried of the two - there was no doubt about the fact that she had her concerns. After all, the doctors had warned them against having children. Was there going to be something wrong with their babies? Would it be too dangerous for them to bring children into the world?
Briana just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right, and she soon realized that her hunch wasn't unfounded. Just a few weeks into their pregnant, disaster struck the Salyer family.
A Devastating Loss
When Brittany was just three months pregnant, she suffered a devastating loss and sadly lost the baby. The miscarriage took a huge toll on her, and Briana hated seeing her identical twin so upset and disheartened. But she was also concerned for her own baby. Briana was just four weeks behind her sister, and she worried that she would also go through the same thing. After all, they always seemed to do everything together.
As predicted, Briana suffered the exact same plight. At three months pregnant, she also lost her baby. The identical twins were beside themselves with grief but knew that they didn't want to give up on their dreams of having a family.
Trying Again
Six months later, both Briana and Brittany Salyer learned that they were pregnant again. And while they were over the moon once more, they also wanted to take precautions the second time around. They made sure to attend all of their doctor's appointments and make sure they had as many checkups as they could to ensure that their babies were happy and healthy. For the most part, the process was pretty smooth.
However, every time they made their way to the doctor's office, they were once again warned by the doctor. They were told how rare their situation was and how little information was known about identical twins having babies with identical twins.
Ignoring the Advice
Although the doctor couldn't tell the twins what to do, he made no secret of the fact that he wasn't confident about their pregnancy. In fact, he sat them down and stared seriously at the women when he asked, "Ladies, I thought I told you to come and talk to me before you decided to start a family?" Briana and Brittany couldn't believe their ears, and couldn't believe that the doctor was being so rude.
They told him that he had actually told their parents that when they were younger, but he had never actively told them to their faces. This seemed to upset the doctor even more, so he got up and grabbed their medical files.
Their Difficult Medical History
As the doctor rifled through their medical records, he started speaking to himself under his breath, spouting out medical jargon that the identical twins just didn't understand. The women were getting increasingly annoyed and felt as though their baby bubble was being burst by a man they had lost trust in a long time ago. They couldn't believe that he was telling them what they could or couldn't do - especially in terms of their future children.
But it didn't take long for the doctor to realize his mistake. The women didn't want to hear what he had to say, so he had to find a way to make them understand the severity of their situation.
Uncharted Waters
The doctor explained that he was so worried because the whole situation was uncharted waters for them, and there was no guarantee that the babies would be healthy as a result. He reminded them of the health problems they experienced as children, which were caused by genetic disorders they could potentially pass down to their babies. Not only that, but they still hadn't received the test results from Josh and Jeremy Salyer, so they were going in blind.
As the women listened to their doctor, they began to understand that he wasn't being rude or disrespectful. Instead, he was just making them aware that they were going into a situation that didn't have a certain outcome.
Your Body, Your Choice
The doctor confirmed that as Briana and Brittany had autonomy over their own body, they had the choice to make whatever decision they wanted to make - and he didn't blame them for wanting to start a family. However, he told them that he wished they would have gone to him before making plans so that they could prepare themselves for the pregnancy and push for the test results quicker.
As they stared at their doctor, the identical twins fought with conflicting thoughts in their minds. They just didn't know what to do, but they knew it was too late to really do anything.
Conflicting Feelings
On the one hand, the women still struggled with their thoughts and feelings towards doctors and health professionals. But on the other hand, the identical twins wanted to bring healthy babies into the world, and they hated the idea that their decision could cause ongoing health problems for their children. They just didn't know what to do and felt incredibly lost and confused in that situation. They also knew they needed to decide on their next move.
They ultimately decided to wait and see what the test results showed before getting too ahead of themselves. But when the doctor finally saw them with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.
A Bizarre Discovery
The doctor scanned the results in front of him for a few minutes, his eyes darting from one page of results to the next as though he couldn't quite believe that it was real. Never in all of his years in the medical profession had he come across such bizarre test results and the twins' bloodwork was unlike anything he had ever seen before. What were they going to do?
As you can imagine, the silence in the doctor's office was overwhelming. And as Briana and Brittany Salyer took in the look on his face, they knew that something was gravely wrong.
Staring at Each Other
Briana and Brittany's eyes darted between each other and their doctor. They could tell that the results in his hand had shed some light on their unusual situation, but they didn't know if it was good or bad news. They held each other's hands to calm each other down, providing the twin solace they had given each other throughout their entire lives. But in the end, they couldn't stand the silence anymore.
They asked the doctor what was wrong, and they prepared themselves for the bad news. They were going to lose the babies, right? Thankfully, they weren't, but the babies wouldn't be as they seemed.
They're Not Cousins
The twins' question seemed to shake the doctor out of his reverie. He looked up at Briana and Brittany, almost surprised to see that they were still there. Then he cleared his throat, closed their medical records, and sat in the chair opposite the women to explain what the results showed. To preface the news, he explained that the babies were technically cousins. After all, they had two different mothers and two different fathers.
Briana was the aunt of Brittany's baby, and Brittany was the aunt of Briana's baby, right? Well, as they were identical twins who were having babies with identical twins, things were getting a little more complicated.
Biological Siblings
While Briana and Brittany Salyer's babies should have been cousins, the test results proved that they weren't. If they had been cousins, their DNA would have been different. But their DNA was identical, making them biological siblings instead! This was the result of identical twins having babies with identical twins, and it's something that is rarely seen in the medical world. In fact, the doctor hadn't even heard of it happening before.
Their doctor told them, "For an OB doc, this is like winning the lottery! It's really that rare!" And while Briana and Brittany were concerned about what this meant for their kids, they were also excited. Their babies would be siblings!
Going Through It Together
While they were in uncharted waters and needed constant monitoring from their doctors, Briana and Brittany managed to get through it together. They were by each other's side every step of the way, from the midnight cravings to the restless mornings trying to get comfortable on the couch. They also were also lucky that they lived under the same roof, so they could keep each other company when they were told to go on bedrest.
The identical twins were so in-tune that they even had exactly the same cravings for pickles, and they would go through jars of them every single day, waiting for their babies to arrive.
Time for Action
Eventually, the time came. Just over eight months later, Briana felt her waters break and she went into labor. The whole house scrambled around her, holding her hand and keeping her calm as they made their way to the hospital to meet the new arrival. However, the connection between the identical twins proved too much at this pivotal moment, as just hours later, Brittany's waters broke, too. And sadly, they had to be placed in two different hospital rooms.
Being apart from each other was hard for the identical twins, but Briana and Brittany Salyers knew that they each needed individual attention from the doctors and nurseries if they wanted their deliveries to be a success.
Pushing Through the Pain
Although both Briana and Brittany Salyers had suffered a huge amount of pain when they were younger, they had never experienced pain quite like childbirth. Waves of pain washed over both of their bodies, and the fact that they didn't have their sister by their side made the situation even more uncomfortable. However, they knew that they had to ride it out and push through the pain if they wanted to see each other - and their babies - again.
But as they were faced with the agony, worries over their children's futures also washed over them. They would be biological siblings, but would they also suffer health concerns like they did?
Good News All Around
Thankfully, neither Briana nor Brittany had to suffer or wait for too much longer. Before they knew it, their babies had been born, and they had a few precious moments with their newborns before they were whisked away by the doctors for tests. At first glance, the babies both looked incredibly healthy, and there were no obvious signs of health concerns. But the doctors wanted to make sure as soon as possible.
Amazingly, it was good news all around, and it was confirmed that the identical twins' genetic health concerns hadn't been passed down to their babies. But the tests weren't over just yet.
Going Viral
Overall, Briana and Brittany were relieved by the news that their babies were going to be ok. They couldn't wait to take them home and be a proper family with their husbands by their side, and they were excited to raise their children as biological siblings. Josh and Jeremy Salyers were also over the moon to have their babies home, and the whole situation seemed to bring them even closer together.
But just as their wedding news made headlines, it didn't take long for news of their babies to go viral either. And while many fans were happy for the couples, there were others who were quick to criticize the families.
A Household Name
Although they weren't famous in the traditional sense, Briana and Brittany Salyers had made a name for themselves over the years. Not only had their wedding been aired on TLC, but they had also built up an impressive social media following on the back of this television success. As a result, they had thousands of followers who followed their life updates, went along to every doctor's appointment and experienced every milestone with the identical twins.
Of course, the press also picked up on their baby news. Theirs was a one-in-a-million situation, and it garnered a huge amount of attention from those around the world. So, people had thoughts.
Back on the Screen
Of course, Briana and Brittany Salyers didn't shy away from the attention. They loved their lives, they loved how close they were, and they loved how their once-small family had grown into a unique and one-of-a-kind family unit unlike many have ever seen before. Because of this, they accepted many offers to be interviewed on television, and their husbands joined them on-screen for these precious moments. This also allowed even more people to join their journey.
As they made more and more TV appearances, they gained even more followers. But with every 10 positive comment under their pictures and videos, there was always one negative one.
Facing the Criticism
For the most part, the criticism all revolved around the same thing: their closeness. While critics understood that Briana and Brittany Salyers were identical twins, they felt as though they were taking their closeness too far. They found their marriage to another set of identical twins bizarre, and they thought they needed to give each other space rather than all live together under one roof. However, that wasn't the way the Salyers twins wanted to live.
They loved the fact that they had each other down the hall, and they loved the fact that their babies - who were biologically siblings - could be raised under the same roof and grow up together.
Together Forever
But what many people don't realize is that Briana and Brittany's closeness doesn't stop there. The Salyers twins also work the same job at the exact same law firm, and Jeremy and Josh Salyers also work alongside each other in their day jobs. And while some people would get sick of their siblings after a while, it seems as though both sets of Salyers twins couldn't imagine life without their twin by their side.
That's how Briana and Brittany want to raise their kids, too. They want them to grow up with the same close bond that they have, and living under one roof helps them do just that.
Couldn't Be Better
Yes, for the two sets of Salyers twins, their life is as perfect as can be. They have their best friends by their side, they're married to the loves of their lives, they have stable and enjoyable jobs, and they now have kids who can say that they're both cousins and biological siblings. And while the odd negative comment does hurt their feelings, they know that their happiness is all that really matters.
Of course, there are also many comments from people who are generally curious about their home set-up. And there's even one question they're asked time and time again, no matter how many times they answer it.
A Little Confusing
Briana and Brittany Salyers know that during every interview or under every picture they post on social media, there will always be at least one person who asks, "Do you ever get confused?" After all, from an outsider's point of view, both the wives and both the husbands look completely identical - so do they ever kiss the wrong husband or hug the wrong wife? Well, the answer is no.
Briana and Brittany have said they've never had a doubt of confusion between any of them, as they always know exactly who is who. In their eyes, getting each other confused isn't even fathomable.
Planning It Together
As if that wasn't enough, Briana and Brittany falling pregnant at the same time wasn't just by pure coincidence. They were so committed to living their lives as a twosome and a foursome that they planned the whole thing together, with their aim to give birth at around the same time. Of course, it's hard to plan such things - so the fact that they were able to pull it off was truly remarkable.
They both suffered losses along the way, and while this came as a tough blow to both of them, the fact that they were going through it together proved to them that it was meant to happen and that life had a different path for them both.
Dressing the Same
To the Salyers twins, doing everything together was a no-brainer. They had been doing it since they were little girls, and they experienced everything as a pair. Even when they went though their health problems, they went through them together. This continued as they got older, and one thing Briana and Brittany loved more than most was dressing the same. Every day without fail, they always wear the exact same outfit!
Before they met their husbands, the women even started their own fashion blogs, sharing what they were wearing, where they had bought it from, and how they were styling it to look the same.
Alike in Everything
But while many people have questioned whether Briana and Brittany Salyers ended up with the wrong Salyers husband, they know that their husbands were meant to be. Of course, both sets of twins share the same birthday, but what's so amazing about Briana and Jeremy is the fact that they were both the first-born twins. Then, Brittany and Josh were both the second-born! In their eyes, this is proof that they are soulmates.
It's not just the wives who think this, either. Both Jeremy and Josh couldn't be happier with their lives, and couldn't believe their luck when they were able to share their close bond with fellow identical twins.
Following in the Footsteps
It's all of the Salyers' dreams that their children will grow up with the same close bond that they all grew up with. Jeremy and Josh have been best friends and inseparable from the moment they were born, and so have Briana and Brittany. It's their hope that their babies will also share this desire to be around their cousin/sibling every single day - not that they'll give them much choice during their earlier years!
This large family aims to do everything together, from trips to the farm to family dinners in the evening. In fact, they hope that their kids will be like twins, too.
The Stars Aligned
Critics have questioned their decision to raise their children so close together, and they wonder whether their kids will resent them as they get older. But for now, everyone in the family is very happy with their current situation. In an interview, Brittany even confessed that "The stars had to align. I get to marry the man of my dreams and at the same time I get to look over next to me and see my twin sister marrying the man of her dreams."
And the fact that this has happened to them can't be something you can ignore. After all, it's not every day you come across identical twins that marry identical twins and have biological sibling cousins!