People frequently ask Hayleigh and Lauren Durrant to present their IDs to verify they’re twins when they’re out in public.
Many people are surprised to learn that Lauren and Hayleigh share the same parents because Lauren is white and Hayleigh is black.
It’s an uncommon occurrence in and of itself, but their parents were blessed with another set of female twins seven years later—and they, too, had the same variegated coloring!
Hayleigh and Lauren said they never get tired of seeing people’s shocked expressions when they find out they are twins. Being distinctive, on the other hand, can have its drawbacks.
“There are some folks that are quite disrespectful. ‘You’re lying, you’re not twins — prove it!’ they’ll say. Hayleigh, who shares her father Dean’s dark skin and black hair, stated in an exclusive interview with The Sun in 2019.
“So we’ll recite the same address or take out our passports.” It’s amusing to witness people’s expressions of surprise. It was tough for us to adjust to college because there were so many different groupings of Asian, white, and black students.”
Lauren, who shares her mother Alison Spooner’s pale hair and green eyes, says that people frequently mistake them for best friends rather than sisters.
Doctors were astounded when the pair arrived at the hospital in early 2001 appearing so dissimilar, considering the chances of this happening are one in 500,000.
Years later, when their younger twin sisters, Leah and Miya, were born in 2009 with differing complexions, the family was inducted into the Guinness World Records book.
“When we were kids, we were like celebrities,” Hayleigh added. “Everyone wanted to take pictures with us and inquire about how it felt to be twins who were not identical. It seemed normal to us.”
Miya has her father’s skin, while Leah has her mother’s. The younger sisters, unlike their older sisters, have grown to look more alike.
“The younger ones look up to the elder ones and are always imitating them.” “It’s like having two Mini-Mes,” Dean, a paver, explained.
They remain the world’s only two sets of twins with the same parents but differing skin tones.
“Apart from looking different, they are best friends and close in every aspect,” Alison, an office manager, said. “It took me a long time to figure out how they could appear so dissimilar.”
Alison recalls a chance encounter she had at the doctor’s office. A woman told her that she presumed one of the children was hers and the other was a friend of hers.
Hayleigh and Lauren were never tormented, but in school, some students wondered why one of them was “milk chocolate” and the other “white chocolate.”
The girls, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by the snide remarks. “It doesn’t matter; we’re sisters and best friends,” they would reply instead.
They’ve always been inseparable, especially the older twins. They wanted to spend all of their time together in primary school. They’d also have similar interests in TV and books, as well as toys and apparel.
Hayleigh and Lauren were put into different courses in high school, but they made sure they never saw each other outside of the classroom.
As a result of their separation, their interests have diverged. Lauren was studying art and business studies at the time of their interview with The Sun, while Hayleigh was studying drama and theater studies and sociology.
“In some ways, we’re incredibly similar,” Lauren added. “We say the same things and finish each other’s sentences at the same time.”
Miya’s elder sisters, Leah and Miya, are her “heroes,” according to Leah, who shares a room with Miya.
“I have a soft spot for my older sisters.” “When we grow up, we want to be like them,” she remarked.
Hayleigh and Lauren, according to Miya, are the “best.”
“They taught me that having a twin sister, even if you aren’t identical, is the nicest thing in the world,” she said.
Leah, Miya, Hayleigh, and Lauren are all twins, and they share an incredible friendship! In the video below, learn more about this remarkable family.