Seeing the Durrant family in its entirety is something to behold, a family of six that are not only striking but have beaten some pretty impressive odds.
When couple Alison Spooner and Dean Durrant had their first set of twins in 2001 the arrival instantly caught everyone’s attention..
Perhaps the most fantastic thing about life on this planet is the unpredictable nature of things.
Sure, there are times when the unexpected can be upsetting, or even heartbreaking, but there are also plenty of occasions wherein we’re pleasantly surprised by something we thought would never happen.
Alison Spooner and Dean Durrant look like an average couple from the outside, but it turns out their genes are special indeed. This is evidenced in the miracle that occurred in not just one set of twins they had, but two …
In 2001, twin sisters Hayleigh and Lauren Durrant, from Hampshire, England, were born with different skin colors. One of the twins was white like their mother, and the other was Black like their father.
When Alison and Dean first discovered they were pregnant with twins, they assumed their babies would take after both of them. When Alison gave birth to Laura and Hayleigh in 2001, however, the parents were met with a surprise.
Laura had inherited her mother’s light skin, blue eyes, and red hair, while her twin sister had much taken after her father.
Of course, Alison and Dean were astounded, as were their families. Yet while the phenomenon is extremely rare, it’s not altogether unheard of.
Growing up wasn’t always easy as their parents had to field questions about how this could have happened and comments of disbelief, and then the girls would face questions from their friends at school.
On the twins’ 18th birthday in 2019, Hayleigh, who has dark skin and hair like her dad Dean, spoke exclusively with The Sun saying they weren’t always accepted.
“Some people can be really rude. They’ll say, ‘You’re lying, you aren’t twins – prove it!’ So we’ll reel off the same address or pull our passports out. It’s nice to see the shock on people’s faces.
“When we went to college it was difficult because there were lots of groups of Asian, white and black kids. The black group were trying to integrate me and I was like, ‘This is my white twin sister.’ No one could believe it. People look at us like it’s some kind of miracle. I’m still amazed that we are twins.”
Meanwhile, Lauren, who has her mother’s green eyes and fair hair, said, “People just assume we’re best friends rather than sisters, let alone twins.
“I’m happy with that because she is my best friend.”
For a biracial couple expecting twins, there is about a 1 in 500 chance those twins will have different skin colors, according to the BBC.
Fast forward seven years and Alison found herself pregnant again … with another set of twins! As Laura and Hayleigh turned 7, their mom gave birth to another set of twin sisters where the same thing happened, and the family made headlines again.