Conjoined twin kept gender identity secret from sister for decades: 'I should have been...'
George Schappell, a conjoined twin, kept his transgender identity a secret from sister Lori for decades.
A conjoined twin has revealed that he hid his true gender identity, keeping it a secret from his sister for decades, a report by Daily Mail said. Born in 1961 as conjoined twins, Lori and George Schappell from Pennsylvania had their skulls fused together and shared 30% of their brains.
The twins hold the Guinness World Record for the oldest-living conjoined twins. When they were born, medical science did not have a safe way to separate them. But even when the procedure was possible, they insisted on saying together. This resulted in the twins spending their lives joined at the head but facing in opposite directions and even pursuing widely different careers.
A decades-long secret
While they could not spend a minute apart, George hid a secret from his sister for most of their lives. Assigned female at birth, George came out as a transgender man in 2007.
"I have known from a very young age that I should have been a boy. I loved playing with trains and hated girly outfits. I kept my desire to change sex hidden - even from Lori - for many years," he said in an interview.
While he did not undergo a gender-affirming surgery, he dressed and introduced himself as a man. When he told his sister about it for the first time, she was shocked but quickly shared her support, saying she was "proud of his huge decision".
All about Lori and George Schappell
While George remained single throughout his life, Lori reportedly had a number of boyfriends and was even engaged, but her fiance died in a traffic accident.
Despite their struggles, the two enjoyed successful careers. While George travelled the world as a country singer, Lori became a trophy-winning ten-pin bowler. They lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Pennsylvania and took turns practising their separate hobbies.
In a 1997 interview, they were asked if they had ever considered being separated. George responded: "Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?"
While their doctors believed that they would not live past 30, they passed away at 62 last year.
