Elyse and Paula - an Identical Pair of Twins (20)

Elyse and Paula met for the first time at the age of 35, in New York in 2003, and disovered that they were identical twins. They had been separated at 5 months old and put up for adoption. Neither the adoptive parents nor the twins were aware a twin sister existed. Only when one of the twins searched for information about her biological mother were the twins informed about the existence of a twin sister by the adoption agency. Later they learned that the agency in the USA had actively searched for identical twins put up for adoption at birth for the purpose of a nature versus nurture study.

Their reunion stirred up a flood of emotions in the 100% genetically identical sisters and was the beginning of a completely new chapter in their lives, with many ups and downs. When Elyse was six years old, her adoptive mother died. As she was unable to build good relations between herself and her new stepmother, she left the parental home at an early age. At 30 she emigrated to Paris, where she lived in modest circumstances as a single woman. Paula, by contrast, was raised by affectionate parents in a loving, stable and affluent environment. She met her beloved husband at the age of 29 and had two children; she was enjoying her harmoniuos  family life just as much as her career.

The sisters shared many personal traits and, therefore, immediately felt a great familiarity and a strong connection when they first met, although they met as strangers. Soon considerable irritations arose, however, due to the twin sisters' different expectations and the challenge to their identity. Elyse especially wanted to be close to her twin sister, but Paula was fearful of such a closeness. Being a single, Elyse had different needs compared to Paula, who had found her calling in her family. Neither of them would trade with the situation of her twin sister, but both women asked themselves what their life would have been like if they had been placed with the other's adoptive parents or if both of them had been adopted by one family. It took them a few years to lose this fear of the new identity and reconcile with the idea that Elyse could just as easily have been Paula and Paula could just as easily have been Elyse. At relaxed moments, however, the twin sisters invariably felt an almost euphoric emotional closeness, which is typically seen in identical twins.