Two women working alongside each other at a Connecticut bar have recently learned that they are biological sisters.
Julia Tinetti, 31 and Cassandra Madison, 32, met in 2013 while working at the Russian Lady Bar in New Haven. At some point, they learned that both had a tattoo of the flag of the Dominican Republic, and were born and adopted from the country.
Their connection was immediate and, soon enough, became inseparable.
Tinetti said she and Madison’s coworkers would often comment on how they looked like sisters, but when Tinetti and Madison compared adoption papers, the documents didn’t match up.
However, based on timelines, birth dates and their resemblance, Tinetti and Madison said they felt there had to be a connection.
Tinetti said she was born in 1989 in the Dominican Republic, and was adopted shortly after her birth. Madison was born in the Dominican Republic in 1988 and was also adopted shortly after birth.
But, despite their backgrounds and physical resemblance, their unmatched adoption papers cast doubt on their potential sisterhood.
Madison said that in 2018, her adopted mother gave her a 23andMe DNA genetic testing kit for Christmas so she could analyze her background.
Madison then pushed Tinetti to take a DNA test and the results showed that the two were sisters and have the same biological parents.
They found that their biological parents had nine kids together, and they were the only two put up for adoption.
They also discovered their adoption papers were mixed up, which would have made their journey so much easier had someone filled them out properly.