Can you imagine finding a video of yourself online that you can’t remember ever being in? You were never in that situation or that place, and yet, there you are, or at least your living, look-a-like doppelganger. How could it be possible?
For Bordier, who grew up in Paris, France, the mystery became an obsession that only social media could solve. When she found Futerman’s name and looked up her biographical details on Facebook, the truth was staring her in face: Futerman was born in Busan, South Korea, just like her, on Nov. 19, 1987, just like her.
After some more online investigations, Bordier decided to take the plunge and message Futerman. Echoing the remake of the Disney classic “The Parent Trap,” as she told CNN, she remembers writing: “I don’t want to be too Lindsay Lohan, well ... but ... how to put it ... I was wondering where you born?”
As for Futerman, who grew up in Verona, New Jersey, before moving to Los Angeles, she was equally perplexed to discover that someone who looked just like her had sent her a friend request on Facebook. While it was “really weird,” as Futerman told CNN, she also felt as though it was an amazing opportunity.
In The Guardian, Border wrote that she still thought the whole thing might be a dream. “After that, every morning I’d check her Instagram feed to remind myself she was real,” she said.
What ensued was “the most intense long-distance relationship and talking over months on social media and Skype,” Futerman told CNN.
What remained yet to be done was for them to meet up in person. Eventually, Futerman and her family came to London, where Bordier was living at the time, and their meetup was both joyous and surreal. “When I first saw Sam, I was trying not to stare, but she just started laughing,” Bordier told The Guardian. “I went over and awkwardly poked her in the head—I just wanted to make physical contact. I didn’t know what to do.”
The two spent the rest of the day together amazed at having found the birth mates they never knew they had.
They soon got biological confirmation of the fact when Dr. Nancy Segal, a twin researcher at California State University, called them on Skype. Segal had facilitated DNA tests that confirmed they were indeed twin sisters separated at birth. “Around us, it was like somebody had won a football match,” Bordier wrote. “Everyone was cheering.”
This incredible journey led them to make a film called “Twinsters” with “Glee” cast member and Korean adoptee Jenna Ushkowitz. They also co-wrote a book. “It’s such a joy to find your family,” Bordier told CNN. “I guess when you’re adopted, you’re always looking for somebody that looks like you, that will understand you.”
