Twins separated when parents divorced - one lived with the mum, one the dad on other sides of the Atlantic

[anotherdayyetanothernickname]

I just got chatting to twins, aged about 16. Their parents split up when the girls were very young children and one moved to North America and the other stayed here. One twin went with each parent.

I am really quite taken aback by this as although I don't know how old they were at the time, they must have been very young as they said it was all they ever knew so didn't seem strange. I think they had a lot of holidays together and did seem close but it just struck me as an unusual thing to do. Do many people split siblings at a young age in such a situation, never mind twins?

I don't have a point to make but just found it interesting.

Isn't that "The Parent Trap" with Hayley Mills?

seriously though - very odd decision.

paperdoll that was my instant thought.

I don't know anything about that film - will look it up.

I found it utterly incredible and fascinating at the same time.

I'm sure they weren't making it up as someone who knows them verified the story after they'd left.

One of my sister's friends is a twin, but her mother gave the twin up for adoption at birth. She didn't find out she was a twin until she was 18, when her mother decided to tell her. I found this incredible too.

Somerset I read a book about something vaguely similar recently - well it was about twins separated at birth who were both given away for adoption. Called Identical Strangers - two American women - Elise Schein and can't remember the other one's name. Was fascinating especially because they are identical twins so masses of nature vs. nurture material.

I wonder whether the girls I spoke to tonight will find it odder in retrospect when they are older and 'get it more' - they just didn't seem bothered by it!

there is an old disney movie about this scenario, except in the film, the girls didnt know about each other, and met accidently at camp

I saw a programme about seperated twins and there were some who were born somewhere in the Carrabian. Their parents divorced and the mother moved to Germany with one and the other stayed behind. The german one joined the Hitler youth and became a nazi. (they were white btw). The other one was the only white boy in his school and had a fairly relaxed island style upbringing. They met again as adults and hated each other which they put down to their different backrounds but the psycologist thought it was because they both had the same disagreeable personality. They both sneezed in lifts on purpose to freak people out (mahoosive comedy type sneezes).