12-year-old identical twins Jaimee Rose Lynne and Jesse May Lynne share what it’s like being a twin, and their mum Ali Gunn provides insights as a parent of twins.
Jaimee and Jesse help us to understand their special bond as well as the challenges of being compared to your twin. We get to know Jaimee’s and Jesse’s individual personal qualities, values and interests and also hear about their experiences with modelling and acting including on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder.
Listen to this episode using the audio player above or by podcast via iTunes or Stitcher or Spotify (or search for “Wide Open Air Exchange” on your preferred podcast platform).
To leave a comment about this episode, you’re welcome to join this Discord group for the Wide Open Air Exchange.
A radio version of this discussion was broadcast on 2SER 107.3FM
Further resource
For a further explanation of the difference between identical twins and fraternal twins, the following text is from this webpage: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/twins-identical-and-fraternal
Identical or ‘monozygotic’ twins
Around one in three sets of twins is identical. This occurs because the fertilised egg divides in two while it is still a tiny collection of cells. The self-contained halves then develop into two babies, with exactly the same genetic information.
Twins conceived from one egg and one sperm are called identical or ‘monozygotic’ (one-cell) twins. The biological mechanisms that prompt the single fertilised egg to split in two remain a mystery.
Approximately one quarter of identical twins are mirror images of each other, which means the right side of one child matches the left side of their twin.
Fraternal or ‘dizygotic’ twins
Around two in three sets of twins are fraternal. Two separate eggs (ova) are fertilised by two separate sperm, resulting in fraternal or ‘dizygotic’ (two-cell) twins. These babies will be no more alike than siblings born at separate times. The babies can be either the same sex or different sexes, with the odds roughly equal for each.
The proposed ‘third-twin type’
Some researchers believe there may be a third type of twin, although medical opinion is still divided. It is proposed that the egg splits in two, and each half is then fertilised by a different sperm. This theory is an attempt to explain why some fraternal twins look identical.