Two friends who met while working at a bar discovered an incredible secret – they are actually long-lost sisters.
Cassandra Madison and Julia Tinoetti became fast friends soon after meeting at work.
Colleagues remarked on how alike they were and Julia and Cassandra began playing up to it, even starting to wear the same clothes to emphasise how they were “like sisters.”
But it took a a 23andMe DNA test to reveal the unbelievable truth.
As soon as they met, Julia, 31, told Good Morning America: “We were so tight. We started hanging out. We would go out for drinks, for dinner. We started dressing alike.”
Cassandra agreed, saying: ”I thought she was cool. We just kind of hit it off right away, It was very natural.”
(Image: Julia Tinetti)
Both women had tattoos of the flag of the Dominican Republic, and knew they had family on the Caribbean island.
They also both knew they were both adopted, and started to wonder if they could be related, but when they compared adoption papers, the documents didn’t match up.
“Papers said we were from two different cities [and had] different last names. And our mothers’ names on our paperwork were different,” Julia said.
But Cassandra’s quest to find out about her ancestry led her to the Dominican Republic, and her biological father told her she had a sister that had also been given up for adoption.
She described the moment she reconnected with family to Fox61 “There is just an enormous amount of people standing there with T-shirts with my face on them,” she said.
(Image: Julia Tinetti)
“It was the most emotional thing I think I’ve ever been through,” Cassandra added, recalling her trip to meet them. “My father and I just embraced each other, and he would not let me go, and I would not let him go.”
In total, Julia and Cassandra’s parents had nine kids together, three boys and six girls. But they made the agonising decision to give up two of their daughters as babies because they couldn’t afford to support such a large family.
(Image: Julia Tinetti)
Once she learned the story, Cassandra, 32, began to wonder if her “sister” Julia might be more than just a very close friend. One DNA test later, and she made the amazing discovery.
She sent a text to Julia saying: “You need to call me! Results!”
Thanks to Cassandra’s determination to find out about her origin – and with a little bit of help from 21st Century technology – the two close friends are now, as they always should have been, sisters.
