'He brings a book to read': Conjoined twin explains how she has sex despite sharing a head with her brother
12 June 2023, 12:59 | Updated: 12 June 2023, 13:01
A conjoined twin has explained how she has sex despite being joined at the head with her brother.
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Lori and George Schapell, 61, are the oldest living conjoined twins, but have managed to enjoy a degree of independence from each other.
The pair share 30% of their frontal lobe and critical blood tissue.
Lori has been engaged and lost her virginity to her second boyfriend when she was 23.
Her brother supported her pursuing a romantic life and tried to give her some privacy when she was getting intimate.
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She said: "When I go on dates, George would bring along books to read and as we don’t face each other, he could ignore any kissing."
She told The Sun: "I don’t see why being a conjoined twin should stop me having a love life and feeling like a woman.”
Lori was engaged but four months before the ceremony was due to take place, her fiancé was killed by a drunk driver.
“It was devastating and my heart is broken," Lori said.
"I am still in contact with his family and have only recently started dating again."
Read more: Conjoined twins separated after 27-hour operation hold hands as they recover in hospital
"George looked after me. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if I could have lived through the heartbreak."
Lori revealed how she wanted to have children in a 1997 documentary, and George said he would support her.
“Well, he [Lori’s future husband] would be like a brother-in-law to me," he told the filmmakers. "They can do whatever they do and I’ll act like I’m not even there. I would block it out."
The twins became the first conjoined pair to identify as different genders, after George transitioned in 2007.
They were expected not to live beyond the age of 30, but have stunned medical professionals with their longevity.
They have lived without assistance in a two-bedroom flat in Pennsylvania since 1988.
George is a country music singer and has designed equipment for disabled people, while Lori has worked in a laundry.
