'We wouldn't have it any other way': Conjoined twin brothers, 19, tell their incredible story in first-ever interview

Stefan and Tyler Delp have spent every moment of their lives together, but have never seen each other's faces, except for in the mirror.



The 19-year-old conjoined twins from South Jersey are a rare set of identical twins joined at the head so one faces forward while the other is turned backward.



Since their birth in Pennsylvania, the autistic twins have been sheltered from the media spotlight. Now for the first time they are speaking out.

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Conjoined twins: Stefan and Tyler Delp have spent every moment of their lives together, but have never seen each other's faces, except for in the mirror

They revealed how they have learnt to thrive as brothers and best friends, go to school, play the violin and are embracing life.



'I wouldn't have it any other way,' said Stefan. 'Tyler is my best friend.'

'The best thing about having a brother with who I'm conjoined is that I always have a best friend to talk to,' Tyler echoed.



In their first interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stefan said he has a crush on actress and country pop singer Jennette McCurdy, 18, while Tyler prefers folk singer Steve Forbert, 54.

The brothers are both gifted musically and have taken violin lessons for 11 years.

Embracing life: The brothers are both gifted musically and have taken violin lessons for 11 years

Loving family: The boys parents Tim and Nancy Delp from South Jersey said the boys have 'surpassed their dreams'

'It is my gift from God,' Stefan told the Inquirer. 'When I sing my Jennette McCurdy songs, Mom says, “God's got his hand on your shoulder”, like Johnny Cash's mom said to him.'



The teenagers attend a school for children with special needs, but spend their mornings at a mainstream school.



'They are so bright,' their mother Nancy Hoffman-Delp said, but she is most pleased that they recently sang at the school's spring hop.



'Academics are important, but they are weak in socialisation, so this was a big step for them.'

Their school principal Joe Castellucci said that the twins who will be in an honours programme next semester, have a positive future.



'They have goals,' he told the Inquirer. 'One enjoys movie making; the other is more into music.

First interview: The boys have been hidden from the media spotlight for 19 years since they were born in Philadelphia

Growing up: The boys parents said that have never complained about the pain caused by being joined



They'll be in school a few more years, and then we'll have a transition program for them.'



The twins have had to adapt to life joined together. When one walks forward the other walks backwards. If they stop to speak to someone, they have to spin so they both get the chance to see the other person.



Tim Delp and Nancy Hoffman had only been married for four years when 14 weeks into the pregnancy a routine ultrasound revealed that it would not be a normal birth.

The couple were told by doctors that they thought their babies shared facial features and that there was a 95 per cent fatality risk and that they should consider terminating the pregnancy.



'I couldn't kill a fly,' said Mrs Hoffman-Delp. 'Let alone think about aborting a child. If my babies were going to die, it was going to be in my arms'



'As soon as they were born, I totally fell in love with them,' the early-years teacher said.

Survivors: Tim and Nancy Delp were told their sons only had a five per cent chance of survival Learning to adapt: The men spend mornings at a mainstream school

Just one in 2.5million pairs of twins are born with the teenagers' condition, craniopagus, in which their skulls are fused together.



The most famous siblings with craniopagus are Lori and Reba Schappell, who were born in Pennsylvania and are now 49. They also decided not to be separated, and Reba went on to have a career as a country singer.

For the first three years of their lives, doctors planned to separate the Delps, before deciding it was too risky.

Stefan and Taylor's mother said she has no regrets about keeping her babies.



'Theirs is the most intimate, loving relationship two people can have,' she said. 'No one ever has to be as giving to another person as they are. They can't do enough for each other.



'These children have surpassed my dreams. They are my sons.'

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