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Topics: Parenting, Sex and Relationships, US News, Weird, Viral
What do you get if two sets of identical twins get together and each have a kid?
Although this might sound like a set-up to some strange joke, it's actually the recipe for a rare phenomenon, known as 'quaternary twins'.
Despite the fact these children don't share a parent, they do share DNA that is close enough for them to be considered 'genetic siblings', even though they are actually cousins.
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And that's the interesting dynamic which comes with living in the Deane-Salyers household, with twin sisters Brittany and Briana Deane as well as their husbands Josh and Jeremy Salyers.
The foursome say they are 'living the dream' in their shared home in Virginia with their two kids, although it might seem bizarre from the outside looking in.
The sisters fittingly met their future husbands at the annual Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, before later tying the knot in 2018.
"Jeremy and I really were attracted to each other and started gravitating toward each other," Briana previously told ABC News. "And Brittany and Josh started. So it was like perfectly kind of paired off."
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Six months later, Jeremy and Josh dually got down on one knee with matching engagement rings to propose to the twin sisters - and incredibly, the women 'even said yes at the same moment'.
Both couples said their 'I do's' during a joint ceremony, before they all moved in together, and in 2022, they each welcomed a child into the world.
Brittany gave birth to Josh's son, Jett, in January that year, before her sister Briana welcomed baby Jax with Jeremy in April.
The Deane-Salyers brood say that they are raising the boys as brothers, rather than cousins, as they are quaternary twins who share a high percentage of DNA.
"They are technically known as quaternary twins," Briana explained. "Because they are genetic brothers and they were born less than 9 or 10 months [of] each other. They're genetic brothers [and] the same age."
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According to the mum, the little lads refer to each others as 'brother' and both say they have two mothers and two fathers.
"Sometimes they both want one mom, or they'll turn around and both want the other mom," Briana added.
So, it's not that surprising that a few people presumed these couples were romantically involved with each other, considering they're all joint at the hip.
But the sisters set this record straight about this misconception last year, explaining they aren't interested in swapping husbands.
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"I think there are people who wonder if it's a polygamist situation, and that's very much not the case," Briana said, explaining that she and her sister were in 'traditional monogamous marriages' with the twin brothers.
"But we just raise the kids under the same roof," she added. "We share finances and all of that, but we're not sharing spouses."
Britanny then chimed in to say: "Each twin gets their own partner," before delving further into their relationship dynamic with Josh and Jeremy.
She explained that her and Briana had each experienced miscarriages in the past before Jett and Jax were born, which solidified their decision to plan their pregnancies so that they could go through it together.
"It's a big relief when they got to overlap their pregnancies like that," Josh said. "Because we wanted that for them."
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Britanny added: "And so the pressure when it's this situation of identical twins married to identical twins...the intrigue and fun of it is staying on the same page of life."
Briana said: "If I'm going to go, you know, jump on the trampoline, I'll go tell Brittany. It would be weird if I went and did it by myself and didn't tell her."
It seems as though Jett and Jax will share a similar bond when they grow up too, as according to People, the youngsters also share the same room.