It’s not every day that you see identical twins, let alone that two sets of identical twins marry, much alone that both sets of identical twins have identical twin offspring.
Can you wrap your brain around it? If you can, you must be wondering if the offspring of the two spouses look identical, and fortunately for you, Darlene and Diane Nettemeier and their husbands Mark and Craig Sanders have the answer.
The quartet, who met at a twin conference, appeared on Friday’s This Morning, where they discussed their family setup with hosts Alison Hammond, 48, and Dermot O’Leary, 50.
Craig, who married Diane and joined her and the presenters on the ITV show’s sofa, explained: ‘Technically, they’re cousins, but genetically they’re like siblings.’
Alison was curious whether the kids had ever misidentified their parents because their mothers and fathers resembled one other.
And, maybe unexpectedly, the answer is no.
Darlene, who appeared via video link with Mark from Texas, replied: ‘Maybe if they came out from behind and didn’t see us but they can always tell us apart if they see us together facing forwards.’
Alison observed that the children had “grew up like brothers and sisters,” pointing out that the families live next door to one another and even share a backyard.
And the relationships don’t end there? As you might have guessed, the dogs of the two spouses are both from the same litter.
Alison questioned the couples if they were clear about which twin they liked from the start or if they were afraid of sharing literally the same choice in companions as their sibling.
Darlene replied: ‘I thought they were both attractive but I was naturally attracted to Mark. I think something more about his personality the more we got to talking to them.’
In disbelief, Dermot jokingly probed: ‘So the four of you weren’t driving home together with your twins going, “Ok you have that one, and I’ll have that one?”
The short answer was no.
Craig responded: ‘Diane was standing on the right and Darlene was standing on the left [at the twin convention].
He continued: ‘I just wanted to talk to the one on the right, Diane. There was something about her that appealed to me more. And I don’t know what [it was].’
And the rest, they say, is history.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
