Jayden and Xavier Boughey are twins, but they have a tough time convincing people.
Jayden and Xavier Boughey are twins, but they have a tough time convincing people.
In case you missed it: This was one of Life & Style's biggest stories from 2015.
Thursday March 5, 2015
Twins Jayden and Xavier Boughey have to convince their classmates they're brothers. And the kids still don't believe them.
Not only were the boys born with different skin tones - one is brown, the other white - they arrived on either side of midnight so have different birthdays - November 6 and 7.
Now 11-years-old, the Sacred Heart students are constantly quizzed by their friends to prove they have the same parents.
"They've just started a new school this year... and the kids didn't believe that they were brothers," their mum, TVNZ journalist Helen Castles told nzherald.co.nz.
"So they take turns quizzing them on different questions like 'what's your mum's middle name?' and they see if the answers match up.
"People are still really quite surprised."
Helen, who's dark skin comes from her Samoan grandmother, knew she was expecting twin boys when she fell pregnant at 20. She and her fair-skinned Canadian husband wondered what sort of babies their gene pool would produce.
"Because we look so different, my husband being a red head, we discussed how they'd look," Helen said.
"We wondered if they would be brown babies with red hair.
"We ended up getting one of each.
"We were really surprised. We thought they would have a combination of our looks."
Xavier and Jayden Boughey with their mother, TVNZ reporter Helen Castles and her father Pat Castles.
As the boys have grown-up they have become very different people inside and out. Jayden, the first born, is a stockier build and "kind of the boss".
"He's totally responsible, very organised, totally motivated to do everything. A tidy freak, so everything has to be perfect. He's big in to his swimming... he does about 36k a week," Helen said.
"And Xavier, he just wants to play and have a great time. He loves riding his bike and climbing trees."
Despite their differences, the boys look out for each other and they are pretty good mates.
"They miss each other when they're not together."
The boys are growing up to look and behave more different from one another.
Next story: No one believes these girls are twins
Lucy and Maria Aylmer, 18, from Gloucester are non-identical twins. Photo / WorldWide Features
One has straight ginger hair, a fair complexion and deep blue eyes. The other has masses of curls, far darker skin and her eyes are a sparkling brown. Read more...
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