Identical twins recount how they met their identical twin partners

Children of each couple ‘genetically, [are] closer to siblings born to the same parents’

Two identical twin sisters found their life partners in a set of identical twin brothers.

Venessa and Kerissa Sealby weren’t ever interested in dating twin brothers until they met their husbands, Lucas and Jacob. If you had asked them before, the two women would’ve told you they weren’t attracted to the same men. In fact, Venessa, 28, told Today that they thought the idea of dating twin brothers was “creepy”.

Speaking to the outlet, the Sealby sisters, who now both share children with their respective husbands, detailed their journey of falling in love with another set of identical siblings.

The two pairs of siblings met in June 2020. Venessa was working as a personal trainer at the time. One of her clients had mentioned she knew similarly “sporty” identical twin brothers.

Venessa remembered her client saying: “She was like: ‘You and Kerissa ran track at University of Oregon, they ran track at Washington State, and I think you’d be a perfect match.’”

Her client added how she thought Venessa would like Lucas more. Venessa then agreed to let her give him her number but made it clear she wasn’t going to reach out first. It wasn’t long before she got a text invitation from Lucas asking if she and Kerissa wanted to meet them at their apartment in Medford, Oregon.

Venessa’s client’s prediction was right – Venessa fancied Lucas, and Kerissa liked Jacob. Venessa admitted that she and Lucas were the “outgoing twins,” having both “spoken” for their sibling growing up.

“As soon as we got in the car, I looked at Kerissa and said: ‘I’m calling mom, because I’m marrying that man,’” Venessa recalled to Today.

Kerissa said: “Jacob and had a one-on-one date and I was like: ‘Okay. This is actually happening.’ The whole thing seemed so crazy.”

Venessa and Lucas were married by October 2022, while Kerissa and Jacob said “I do” in June 2023. Venessa and Lucas welcomed their baby daughter Adrian in October 2023. Kerissa and Jacob share a 19-month-old daughter Sophie. Because Sophie and Adrian are the offspring of two sets of identical twins, they are cousins and quaternary twins.

“While not well researched, this is a rare phenomenon that happens when one set of identical twins have children with another set of twins within a short period of time, usually less than nine months,” WebMD states. “The two children don’t share a parent or the same DNA. They’re cousins but genetically, they’re closer to siblings born to the same parents.”

Now, the two couples, and their small families, share a very close life, living as next-door neighbours. “We live two steps away from each other. We’re constantly running back and forth to each others houses. I’m at Vanessa’s probably 10 times a day,” Kerissa confessed.

In conversation with The Independent, Venessa spoke about how her relationship with her sister developed after they met their forever partners.

“In a weird way, our lives only changed for the better. Since meeting Lucas and Jacob, Kerissa and I have only become closer. We have always spent everyday talking or hanging out, and not spending many day apart, if any at all,” she said.

“And since meeting the Sealby brothers we have both grown as woman, became mothers and wives, and we share new experiences still side by side. We gained some amazing in-laws and look forward to much more growth as a family! More babies, more property, and more memories,” Venessa added.

The Independent has contacted Kerissa for comment.