Life is challenging and one really never know this until you get to taste some of the bitter and harsh realities. As a child grows he or she gets to experience a lot of things. Though parents try to keep them away from all the unnecessary things, some things still make their way to the brim.
When Rachelle Dyer posted a picture with her new neighboring friend people started to question their relationship. Though it was a random snap, the questions it raised was something to think about. Little did Rachelle know what a life-changing revelation was about to happen.
In the year 2004, Rachelle tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend. She was over the moon that she was starting her life with the man she loved the most. However, the only thing she was a little sad about was that post marriage she would be living with him in Virginia leaving her hometown Seattle behind. It was the beginning of a beautiful life for the couple.
Soon after shifting to Virginia, Dyer and her husband had the best moments of their life. Dyer even turned into a mom of a cute little baby boy. Later on, she was looking for a job and eventually got one. However, she never knew what this job was bringing in for her.
Dyer was posted as an assistant special education teacher at Tallwood Elementary School, Virginia. She was looking forward to this new opportunity completely unaware of what was coming next. She on her social media even posted, “I have the most amazing son and husband! I am a lucky woman!” Was she really the luckiest woman?
At the Elementary School, Dyer met a woman named Nicoll. Though they could not interact much there as Nicoll completed her student teaching at the school and was now moving to King's Elementary School. The two never met again until the day...
Though Nicoll left, at Tallwood events and reunions she would be present. Lately, Dyer became close friends with one of her colleagues who knew Nicoll as well. And she said something to Dyer which many other staff members too said. It was tough to accept it but was something Dyer couldn't deny either.
Dyer's colleagues often said that she and Nicoll had a very similar personality. They had a way of talking and walking which resembled like the other one. Some people even said that they look similar as well. Maybe that they are sisters. Could they be?
Rachelle Dyer always laughed when people would call her and Nicoll sisters. They would often say that do you have a twin sister? Any sibling? However, Rachelle always had the same answer, indeed she had a twin sister named Kristelle Arthur Harrington and not Nicoll. And this was not the only thing.
When people asked Nicoll the same question, even she would laugh at it and would say that she already had a twin sister named Lisa Holley Vann and not Rachelle. This was a surprise and a strange thing at the same time. Neither of them knew that there was something hidden from them.
Dyer's husband was now curious. After hearing about his wife and Nicoll's similarities, in 2017 he asked her to perform a home DNA test and know if there were any possibilities of having a sibling. She received the results in March 2019 and did not get those verified. But...
It was in 2019 that the principal at Tallwood Elementary asked Dyer to at least look for the results of her DNA Test. And surprisingly she found a match. Her DNA matched with a woman named Tracey Hall. Who was she?
Tyer located Hall with the help of internet. And one thing which surprised her the most was Hall already knew about Dyer. But how? And if that was the case then why didn't she ever reach out to her? Hall's aunt Janice Moore gave birth to twin daughters who were later put on for adoption. And this was just the beginning of the long mystery.
Dyer was amazed as she knew that she and her sister were adopted and if Moore gave twin daughters for adoption, the possibility made sense that they two are those daughters only. Yet another shocking piece of information came. Moore's biological daughters lived at Virginia Beach and their names were...
Hall told Dyer that those two sisters had half-sisters. This all the way made Dyer curious as those two sisters were residents of Virginia Beach where Dyer too lived. When Dyer asked their names, the reply made her shudder for a moment. She knew she had heard one of those names before.
The names were Lisa Holley Vann and Shannon Nicoll. After a few minutes of brainstorming, Dyer realized that Nicoll was the name she has heard of before. And suddenly it struck to her that it was the same woman she met at Tallwood Elementary School. Now it was making sense as to why people would call both of them alike then.
Dyer was in shock to realize that she was once this close to her half-sister, and later she regretted that she did not know her that well. She was her sister and she never knew about it. Surprisingly, even Nicoll never knew about this.
Moore before giving the twins for adoption just kept two conditions that whosoever adopts them will have to raise them together and also they should be brought up and should follow the Catholic belief.
Moore again built her family and life. Two years after giving the twins for adoption, she met a man named Holley. They tied the knot in Virginia and gave birth to two daughters, Vann who was 51 and Nicoll who was 49 then. After coming across the truth, Dyer couldn't hold any longer.
Once Dyer her sister, Nicoll and her sister got to know about the existence of each other, the half-sisters they were shocked. Staying so close in the neighboring area and still not aware of how closely they were related. And now none could stop them from reuniting.
In February 2019, the four sisters met for dinner and then they closely observed each other. They realized that they looked alike, talk alike and even walk alike, they had a similar voice. They were really excited, happy and emotional at the same time. They were going crazy over the reunion.
Rachelle recalls, “Both of my children came to the dinner and every time the four of us would laugh they put their hands over their mouths because they couldn’t believe how much we sounded alike. I mean, we were finishing each other’s sentences.” The kids couldn't believe how similar the aunts and their mom was.
Other than this, the sisters were now disclosing their personal lives and while doing so they came across a strange coincidence. Dyer said, “My husband’s dad’s birthday is the same as our birth mother’s. Our mom had a pilot’s license and my husband’s mom did too.” She further exclaimed, “All this is mindboggling, but it’s so very wonderful.”
When everything went merry there was one thing which the sisters felt bad about. One of the sisters lived a little far and meeting in Virginia and holidaying together would be difficult for her. She further said, "The holidays will be hard for me because I have so much family in Seattle, and I know they’ll all be getting together in Virginia Beach.”
For the sisters gathering in Virginia was even special now. Their birth mother had recently passed away and this was the time when they grew closer. They needed one another, their strength and support. Nicoll in an interview said, “For us, with losing mom recently, she was Thanksgiving, she was Christmas, she was all of those things and made it everything.”
Later their extended families met one another. Their spouses and kids met and all of a sudden from a small family it was a huge extended family. They were happy to reunite. And lately, they all thanked Rachelle to have conducted a DNA test which eventually led to this.
To this Rachelle revealed that it was not her who decided to go for DNA. Rather the picture that she posted with Nicoll when she joined the Elementary School was the one which did it. People started to say that they look so similar. And finally, Rachelle showed the picture.
This was the picture which Rachelle took initially of her and Nicoll. Undoubtedly they had very similar facial features. The people were right to call them sisters. However, back then both of them did laugh over it and now they were questioning themselves.
The sisters' tale was so strange and unusual that it gained a lot of popularity. Surprisingly, their past and reunion went viral and the sisters were even called at the Good Morning America segment. The sisters shared how it was to meet for the first time and realize the bond they shared.
People had varied responses to this story. While many were amazed others were so touched that they themselves performed a home DNA test to look for a possible match if any. Majorly the children who were adopted opted for this test. This was quite unexpected.
The women also said on the show that they believe it was a bit of fate and most importantly their late birth mother who made this reunion possible. It was her wish or blessings that the women crossed each others path.
We wish that the sisters have a happy life ahead. Hoping that they could stay together and cherish the golden times which they could not in the initial years of their life. As they say better late than never...