Ten-year-old twin sisters Gracie Rainsberry and Audrey Doering, who were born in China and adopted by two different families, met for the first time Wednesday on
Gracie, who lives in Richland, Washington, and Audrey, who was raised 1,500 miles away in Wausau, Wisconsin, didn’t know they were twin sisters until December.
It all began when Audrey’s mother, Jennifer Doering, discovered a photo of the two girls as babies, posing with their Chinese foster mother, according to the Daily Mail.
Audrey had wanted a sister for Christmas, but instead her mom gave her a copy of her “finding ad,” a photo published in Chinese newspapers when a baby is put up for adoption at an orphanage.
Jennifer got a hold of a copy of the ad and was surprised to find two babies in the photo.
“As soon as I had that picture, I was desperate to find out who that other child was,” she said.
The girls’ foster mother was also in the picture, holding Audrey on one knee and her identical twin sister Gracie on the other.
After more research, the Doerings found that the other child in the photo shared the same birth date and had a similar congenital heart condition.
Audrey grew up with three older brothers, while Gracie also has three siblings — two brothers and a sister.
The twin sisters talked with each other for the first time in December via FaceTime after Jennifer was able to locate Gracie and the Rainsberrys.
Dr. Nancy Segal, a psychologist who specializes in twins, was also on the show and said a DNA test confirmed that Gracie and Audrey were identical with 100% certainty.
“It felt like there was somebody missing,” said Audrey before meeting her sister. “Now, it’s complete.”
Gracie pointed out how excited and happy she felt shortly after the reunion on GMA, but the event was “very overwhelming.”
The two have really gotten to know one another and both discovered they also shared a love for chicken Alfredo as well as mac ’n’ cheese.
