These babies are identical twins, but their mom has no trouble telling them apart.
“People say, ‘The doctors lied to you. Your twins aren’t identical,’” Danielle Marple of Venice, Florida, tells TODAY.com about her daughters Sophia and Adriana, who look very different. “It’s confirmed they are identical twins.”
Marple posted a TikTok video of the girls captioned, “At this point they barely look like sisters, let alone identical twins” and it went viral, with more than 20 million views and many incredulous reactions.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
- “Both are adorable, but they don’t even look like cousins.”
- “Are you sure they are twins?”
- “Not super educated on twins but shouldn’t identical ones be ... identical?”
- “Do they even have the same parents?”
- “Did you call the hospital about this?”
Marple, a critical care nurse practitioner, speculates that her twins look so different given their different medical histories.
On Oct. 25, 2023, the girls were born premature at 25 weeks after Marple was hospitalized with preeclampsia, a dangerous condition in which a pregnant woman develops extremely high blood pressure.
U.S. & World
Sophia (on the right in the video) was born weighing 11 ounces while Adriana weighed one pound, four ounces. Both girls were admitted to the NICU; Sophia was discharged in March after 4.5 months, while Adriana stayed in the hospital for 344 days and just came home this month.
“Adriana defied every odd by the grace of God,” Marple tells TODAY.com. “It’s such a blessing that both babies are healthy ... and continuing to thrive.”
Marple says Sophia and Adriana are “dichorionic” twins, meaning they had two different placentas and two different amniotic sacs, which, according to Columbia University, is more typical with fraternal (non-identical) twins. The girls were conceived with IVF, as Marple removed her fallopian tubes as a precaution upon learning she carries a BRCA gene mutation that can cause ovarian cancer.
Marple says people on social media always question her daughters’ appearances, claiming they are “switched at birth” and scrutinizing her ultrasound photos for “proof” they’re fraternal twins.
“I even posted the genetic testing results to show they are identical,” Marple says, adding, “I had to stop reading comments because they frustrate me.”
Identical twins don’t always look alike.
“Even at birth, you may be able to see some differences in identical twins,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “Small genetic mutations can happen in the womb. So, one twin may have a mole or a birthmark that helps you recognize who’s who. Or maybe one got more blood from the placenta than the other, so one twin is born a little bigger.”
According to Marple, her doctors say the girls developed differently during their respective medical treatments, which involved face masks, breathing tubes and medications. The twins also have different nutritional plans tailored to their health needs.
“I am curious over the next few years if they will change and look more alike,” says Marple.
The mom says her reunited daughters are getting used to each other as siblings.
"Sophia was home for six months before Adriana, so it’s been interesting to watch her go from thinking she is an only child to having temper tantrums,” says Marple, adding, “They always touch and grab at each other and it’s really sweet. I’m very grateful.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
