Julia Tinetti and Cassandra Madison were adopted from the Dominican Republic in the late 1980s and brought to the US.
Not all siblings look alike and we definitely don't expect friends to look similar. However, two women in New Haven, Connecticut, who were working together, did look alike and that raised questions. They were colleagues who became friends, and then they were asked about their similarities so often that they started wondering if they were indeed related. After all, they had a similar background story.
Cassandra Madison, 32, began working as a waitress at a bar in 2013 and became friends with one of the hostesses, Julia Tinetti, 31. They became such close friends that people started confusing them, which is unlikely even between friends. The duo had similarities that went beyond their long dark hair and deep brown eyes. They also had similar personalities, reported The Washington Post.
"People would always say, ‘Are you sure you’re not sisters?'" said Cassandra. Eventually, the duo began wondering if they were indeed related.
After connecting in 2013, they learned that both of them had a flag of the Dominican Republic as a tattoo, and both were born in the country and later were adopted from the country. "After that moment, we were so tight," Julia told Good Morning America. "We started hanging out. We would go out for drinks, for dinner. We started dressing alike," she added.
“I thought she was cool,” said Cassandra. "We just kind of hit it off right away, It was very natural."
The duo said that while their coworkers would often comment on how they looked like they could be sisters when they compared their adoption papers, things didn't match up. "Papers said we were from two different cities [with] different last names. And, our mothers' names on our paperwork were different," said Julia.
They were not convinced. Just based on their timelines, birth dates, and resemblance, they felt a connection. Julia was born in 1989 and was adopted soon after, while Cassandra born in 1988 and was also adopted soon after. The latter was sure that they were sisters but the adoption papers had dashed her hope.
They didn't stay in the same place since they connected and Cassandra ended up moving to Virginia Beach, Virginia. However, they stayed in touch. In 2018, her adopted mother gave her a 23andMe DNA genetic testing kit for Christmas so she could find out more about her past. "I did not know that you can find a relative, so that was very much a shock," she said. Her test helped her find many distant relatives.
Julia's childhood friend, Molly Sapadin, 31, helped the two women figure out their connection eventually. Molly was also adopted from the Dominican Republic in 1990. Both of their adopted mothers were friends, and they grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. Molly told GMA that when she started comparing her and Julia's adoption paperwork, she thought they could be half-sisters. The documents showed that they shared a last name and their biological mom.
However, there seemed to be a mix-up. Molly and Julia were adopted on the same day in close proximity. The trio believes that there were some mistakes in the documents because of that. Molly found she has a twin when she took a DNA test earlier in 2021, and that Cassandra is her third cousin. "I'm so excited to be a part of a huge family I didn't know about," she said.
Eventually, Cassandra and Julia figured out that they were biological sisters. It was a circuitous journey to that knowledge. They found out on January 28, 2021, that they were sisters. Initially, Cassandra found her biological father and asked him if he had given up another child for adoption. "He said, 'It was just a difficult time for your mom and I. So, I don't like to talk about it. I don't like to think about it.'". He also said that they did put up another child for adoption.
Julia and Cassandra's parents had nine kids between them, and the two women in the US are the only ones who were adopted. "It's exciting. We've got one more sister," said the 32-year-old. "Especially since Julia [Tinetti] and I were already friends."
References:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/03/04/friends-sisters-23andme-adoption/
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/friends-worked-learn-biological-sisters-76099870
Cover image source: Pixabay | Photo by u_uf78c121
