Carmen and Lupita Andrade recently answered some of the burning questions they often receive about their Siamese twins. The sisters shared what it’s like for one when the other wants to date and revealed how often they get tired of each other. Carmen and Lupita told the magazine that separation surgery was far too risky for them because they share many “internal structures.”
“If we had separation surgery, one of us would die, we would both die, or we would end up in the intensive care unit and never come out,” Lupita said. When they were born, doctors told their parents: they would probably only have one. They would live for a few days – but they defied all odds and are now thriving. When they were babies, they spent years in physical therapy, where they learned to sit up and use their legs together — and when they were four, they took their first steps together.
Now, 22 years later, they haven’t let sharing a body stop them – and the two have skillfully adapted to life with each other. Both sisters have two arms but only one leg each, meaning Carmen – who controls the right leg – must drive. We go to the movies, to concerts (we share a seat) and we travel by plane,” says Carmen. Last year we were in California and we also flew to Texas.
They’ve even found ways to make sure they have some alone time, despite being together 24/7. “Sometimes at the end of the day we’re just exhausted and we don’t want to not talk,” Carmen admitted. Then we use different devices and do our own work. I have my laptop to do my homework and Lupita turns it on with headphones and listens to music or uses her phone.
We’ve grown up together our whole lives, so it’s not like we miss our independence. That’s all we’ve ever known, isn’t it?
While emphasizing that they are “happy the way they are,” they also admitted that “all that glitters is not gold.” One of the challenges of growing up together is finding clothes to fit their bodies – but a neighbor has been sewing them shirts and dresses since they were five. And luckily, it’s easy to agree on clothes because both women have the same sense of style. We have the same style, but we tried to have our own look. Usually we don’t have the same length hair,” Carmen revealed.
When we went to the eye doctor, Lupita chose completely different glasses than mine and she has a piercing on the side of her nose. I have a nasal septum ring. The two also had problems in their love lives. Although Lupita is asexual, Carmen started looking for love on the dating app Hinge a few years ago, but she admitted to receiving a lot of messages from “fetish guys” after stating on her profile that she was a Siamese twin.