A married conjoined twin – who shares a pelvis, reproductive system, and liver with her sister – has answered the question about intimacy that everybody asks.
Carmen and Lupita Andrade, 25, don’t share a heart or stomach, but they are joined at the torso and control a leg each.
The sisters grew up in Connecticut, US, and have built up a strong social media presence, where they share parts of their lives, raise awareness, and answer questions.
But intrigue over one aspect of the twins’ lives reached fever pitch after Carmen met Daniel McCormack, 28, on the dating app Hinge in 2020.
The pair went on to marry in October 2024.
Now, Carmen has opened up about how the couple handles intimate aspects of their marriage, while respecting Lupita’s boundaries – with the twin explaining that “constantly talking” is the key.
“I don’t know how else to put it,” the social media star told People, explaining that if her sister isn’t comfortable with something, “we just respect that”.
Lupita, who identifies as asexual, also gave an insight into how she handles intimacy between her sister and her husband.
“I have headphones and a phone. I don’t care,” she told the publication, explaining that she loves Daniel “as a brother. That’s about it”.
Daniel, meanwhile, gave his own take on the situation, explaining, “People are obsessed with sex, you know? And it is just like, frankly, it’s none of your f—ing business.”
Speaking to the US site Today in 2023, Carmen divulged more about the early days of her relationship.
“I never tried to hide the fact that I’m a conjoined twin, which meant I got a lot of messages from guys with fetishes,” she explained.
“I knew right off the bat that Daniel was different from the others, because he didn’t lead with a question about my condition.
“I have social anxiety, and I’ve ended up canceling dates at the last minute, but I felt calm on the way there.”
“Daniel and my sister get along really well. It’s funny because I stay up later than Lupita, but when Daniel sleeps over, I fall asleep quickly — and he stays up talking with her,” she added.
“Sometimes I feel bad because I want to spend so much time with Daniel. So we try to come up with compromises. Like, (Lupita) will choose where we go out to dinner, or what activity we’re going to do.”
In the same interview, Carmen gave an insight into daily life as a conjoined twin.
“Sometimes at the end of the day, we’re just exhausted and we don’t want to talk. That’s when we’ll go on different devices and do our own thing,” she explained.
“I have my laptop to do schoolwork, and Lupita will put on headphones and listen to music or go on her phone. We’ve been conjoined our whole life, so it’s not like we miss our independence. It’s all we’ve ever known, right?”
