Carmen (left) and Lupita Andrade, 21, from Connecticut, are attached along their chest walls down to their pelvis where their spines meet

A woman has revealed how she navigates dating as a conjoined twin, joking that her sister is a bad ‘wing woman’.  

Mecixo-born Carmen and Lupita Andrade, 21, answered a string of questions on an Ask Me Anything YouTube video on intimacy, their hobbies and education, the ‘inappropriate’ comments they receive and their future marital plans. 

The girls, who have lived Connecticut‌ ‌since‌ ‌they‌ ‌were‌ ‌two‌-years-old, are attached along their chest walls down to their pelvis where their spines meet.

They have two arms, but only a single leg each, with Carmen controlling the right leg and Lupita, the left. 

The sisters, who were only expected to survive for three days after they were born in 2002, have been told that their separation could result in their death or years of intensive care.

So they chose to stay together and have expertly adapted to living life with one another – including how to navigate life now that Carmen has a boyfriend. 

Carmen (left) and Lupita Andrade, 21, from Connecticut, are attached along their chest walls down to their pelvis where their spines meet

Carmen (left) and Lupita Andrade, 21, from Connecticut, are attached along their chest walls down to their pelvis where their spines meet

Lupita (left) and Carmen said that they don't see themselves as being disabled and believe disability is only a state of mind

Lupita (left) and Carmen said that they don’t see themselves as being disabled and believe disability is only a state of mind  

Dating has been a ‘learning process for everybody’, according to Carmen, who has been going out with her current boyfriend for a ‘year and a half’, although she didn’t name him or share a picture. 

She told the cameras her partner is similar to a close friend and her new relationship was ‘not intimate in that way, and he’s OK with that.’ 

The couple met on dating app Hinge, which aims to pair up compatible people for a serious relationship.

Carmen said she was ‘transparent’ about her condition but admitted she found it ‘really awkward’ to show she was a conjoined twin on her profile. 

Carmen (wearing glasses) and Lupita (wearing a headband) talked to the cameras about their hobbies, education and relationships

Carmen (wearing glasses) and Lupita (wearing a headband) talked to the cameras about their hobbies, education and relationships

Shortly after they were born medical experts thought the pair would only live for three days: Pictured: The girls as children with model Tyra Banks

Shortly after they were born medical experts thought the pair would only live for three days: Pictured: The girls as children with model Tyra Banks 

Her twin Lupita, however, sees dating very differently after confessing she is ‘asexual and aromantic’.

Carmen said:  ‘I was obviously going to be transparent about everything… It was a learning process for everybody. We obviously had to have a discussion on what boundaries are OK and what aren’t.’

The 21-year-old poked fun at her sister for being a bad wingwoman, to which Lupita butted in and said she made ‘fun of both of them’.  

The girls have two arms, but only a single leg, with Carmen controlling the right leg and Lupita, the left

The girls have two arms, but only a single leg, with Carmen controlling the right leg and Lupita, the left

Carmen (pictured left) said dating has been a 'learning process for everybody, but she found a boyfriend through the mobile app Hinge and has been going out with him for a 'year and a half'

Carmen (pictured left) said dating has been a ‘learning process for everybody, but she found a boyfriend through the mobile app Hinge and has been going out with him for a ‘year and a half’

Carmen said marriage was not at the forefront of her mind because she is ‘only 21’ but admitted she would rather be ‘life partners than actual marriage’.  

What are conjoined twins? 

Conjoined twins occur when siblings have their skin or internal organs fused together. It affects around one in 200,000 live births.

Conjoined twins are caused by a fertilised egg beginning to split into two embryos a few weeks after conception, but the process stops before it is complete.

The most common type is twins joined at the chest or abdomen. Separation surgery success depends on where the twins are joined.

Doctors can only tell which organs the siblings share, and therefore plan surgery, after they are born.

Omphalopagus twins are joined near the belly button and often share a liver but generally do not share a heart. 

Sources: Mayo Clinic and University of Maryland Medical Center

The two of them claimed they have been inappropriately ‘fetishized’ over the idea that someone is ‘having sex with two people at once’.

Both of them do not see themselves as disabled either – after admitting that it is only ‘a disability if you make it a disability’.

When Lupita and Carmen were young, they spent years in physical therapy learning how to sit up and work together to use their legs and when they were four-years-old, they took their first steps together.

Doctors considered separating them, but concluded it couldn’t be done safely because they shared too many vital organs and their lower spine.

When previously asked if they ever want to be separated, both said no because even if the surgery went well they would have years of physical therapy ahead of them.

‘And then there’s the whole psychological situation because we’ve been so used to, like, being together,’ Carmen said. ‘I don’t think there’d be a point.’

When talk of separation surgery came up, Lupita and Carmen asked their mother, ‘Why would you want to cut us in half?’ 

However, Lupita is suffering from scoliosis (a sideways curvature of the spine), which is cramping her lungs.

Doctors say she could need surgery to remove a segment of her spine, or alternatively start using an oxygen tank.

While scoliosis surgery can be a relatively straight-forward procedure, that’s not the case in conjoined twins.

There is a high risk of death or brain damage for Lupita.

 

 

 

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