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The Aylmer Twins: Mixed Race Sisters Defy The Odds

People don't believe Lucy and Maria are even sisters as one is white and the other is black

Meet Lucy and Maria Aylmer, 18-year-old twins from Gloucester.

Yes, these two college students aren’t just biological sisters they’re twins.

Lucy (left) and Maria Aylmer are 18-year-old twins. Yes, really. [WorldWideFeatures]
Lucy (left) and Maria Aylmer are 18-year-old twins. Yes, really. [WorldWideFeatures]


Thanks to having one mixed race and one white parent, Maria was born black while Lucy was born white.

Around 12,000 sets of twins are born in the UK every year but the odds of non-identical twins being different races is 1 in 500.

The twins’ mum Donna Douglas got the surprise of her life in the delivery room back in 1997 when she met her girls as nothing from her ultrasound scans had pointed to this anomaly.

Maria and Lucy's mum is mixed race and their dad is white. [WorldWideFeatures]
Maria and Lucy's mum is mixed race and their dad is white. [WorldWideFeatures]


“It was such a shock for her because obviously things like skin colour don’t show up on scans before birth,” said Lucy.

“So she had no idea that we were so different. When the midwife handed us
both to her she was just speechless.”

To add to their parents’ confusion, Lucy and Maria have three older siblings who are all mixed race.

“All our older brothers and sisters have a skin colour which is in-between Maria and I. We are at opposite ends of the spectrum and they are all somewhere in-between,” claimed Lucy.

Lucy and Maria have three older siblings who are all mixed race [WorldWideFeatures]
Lucy and Maria have three older siblings who are all mixed race [WorldWideFeatures]


“My grandmother is English and she has a very fair English rose complexion, just like mine, which is obviously what I have inherited from her.”

Growing up, people didn’t believe Maria and Lucy were related let alone twins and they’ve had to go to great lengths to prove they once shared a womb.

“Even when we dress alike, we still don’t even look like sisters, let alone twins.

Growing up it was tough for the girls to form the stereotypical twin bond. [WorldWideFeatures]
Growing up it was tough for the girls to form the stereotypical twin bond. [WorldWideFeatures]


“When we’ve met friends for the first time they never believe we are twins and they have even made us produce our birth certificates to prove that we are actually twins.”

While the difference in their skin colour made it harder for them to bond when they were younger, these days the unique sisters claim they’re closer than ever.

“I think if we’d looked similar or even identical then the bond between us would have been stronger when we were younger. But Maria and I had such different personalities too. She was the outgoing twin whilst I was the shy one. Maria loved going out on the town with friends and I’m happier going to music gigs,” said Lucy.

These days the twins are closer than ever [WorldWideFeatures]
These days the twins are closer than ever [WorldWideFeatures]


“Now we have grown older, even though we still look so different, the bond between us is much stronger.

“Now we are proud of the fact that we are each other’s twin sister. Maria loves telling people at college that she has a white twin - and I’m very proud of having a black twin.”

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