The Olsen Twins’ Memories Sometimes Get Merged Together: ‘We Don’t Know What Actually Happened to Whom’
Twins don’t appear in the entertainment industry very often, which is what makes Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen so fascinating to many people. The two of them have an extraordinary sisterly bond, and their relationship continues to attract a lot of interests even when they do not appear in the media as often.
Because of how much time they spend together, the Olsen twins’ memories apparently sometimes get merged. In fact, they have revealed that they occasionally do not remember which sister experienced what.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have spent a lot of time together
Mary-Kate and Ashley were born a few minutes apart and have spent a significant portion of their lives together.
When they were both 9 months old, they appeared on Full House to take turns playing Michelle Tanner. The twins stayed on the show for about eight years, only leaving when it ended in 1995.
Afterwards, they continued having a career together. They established their own franchise of Mary-Kate and Ashley movies, dolls, books, makeup, etc.
In 2004, they even briefly attended New York University together. However, they later left the school at different times.
Then, in the mid-2000s, the Olsen twins gradually moved behind the scenes and away from the limelight. They established fashion lines and continued working side-by-side to take care of their developing businesses.
In 2010, Ashley described to Ellen DeGeneres just how much time she and her sister spent together, saying, “We’re together every day, probably from 9 a.m. till 12 at night, sometimes earlier.”
Their lives occasionally do diverge—such as when Mary-Kate got married in 2015 and filed for divorce in 2020—but it’s clear their relationship is still as close as ever.
The Olsen twins have shared memories
Because of how much time they have spent together since birth, Mary-Kate and Ashley apparently sometimes mix up their memories with each other. This is an actual phenomenon that has been known to happen with many pairs of twins who have numerous shared experiences.
“Some of our memories are shared,” Mary-Kate said in an interview with Vogue in 2011. “We don’t know what actually happened to whom.”
She explained that this is because the sisters can strongly empathize with one another, adding, “One of us was stung by a bee, but we can’t remember who, because we both felt it.”
The Olsen twins also balance each other out
While the Olsen twins may seem like they are quite alike, they have always maintained their individualities.
For example, their tastes in clothes are not always the same, as Mary-Kate explained to Interview Magazine in 2009, “Ever since I can remember, we dressed completely differently. Ashley would wear really baggy clothes and shoes that were too big for her, and I think my first favorite clothing item was a pair of spandex shorts with fringe on them! Leopard and white spandex.”
Speaking to DeGeneres, Ashley also confirmed that they balance each other out.
“And also, you know, we’re mirror twins, so we also kind of go like this,” she said, mimicking a scale with her hands. “One’s really good, the other’s not so good. It’s kind of this balancing act.”
