Twin sisters separated at birth reunite on 'Good Morning America'

Thursday, January 12, 2017
WAUSAU, Wis. -- Two families who got the surprise of a lifetime after learning their adopted daughters were identical twin sisters living in different parts of the country celebrated as the two met in person for the first time.

Audrey and Gracie were separated at birth in China and came to the United States in separate adoptions. Now, they're enjoying a special reunion 10 years in the making.
[Ads /]
Jennifer and Thomas Doering, of Wisconsin, were already the parents of three boys.

"Just felt like we weren't complete," Jennifer Doering said. "Really would love to have a daughter, and finally decided to go through adoption."

Meanwhile, in Washington state, Nicole Rainsberry and her husband Scott were also hoping to expand their family.

"We decided to have a fourth," she said. "And adoption seemed like a great way to add to our family."



Their searches led both families to China. The Rainsberry family adopted Gracie, and the Doerings adopted Audrey. Both girls had heart conditions and underwent surgeries.

Jennifer Doering becomes curious about Audrey's past, and she discovered a picture showing Audrey on her Chinese foster mother's knee with another baby who looks just like her.
[Ads /]
"This is stuff you read about, and how could it really be that there are two of them?" she said. "As soon as I had that picture, I was desperate to find out who that other child was."

Through social media, Jennifer Doering connected with Gracie's mother.

"It was so crazy to be looking at what looked like Gracie, but knowing that it wasn't Gracie," Nicole Raisenberry said. "It's just surreal."

The girls could not fight back tears as they met for the first time and embraced on "Good Morning America" wearing matching pink tops and black-rimmed glasses.



"I felt like there was somebody missing," Audrey said. "It was like, now it's complete."
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.