Cousins or Brothers? The Stunning Story of Quaternary Twins Being

Born to Identical Twins Two couples, one of which consists of identical twin sisters, Brittany and Briana Salyers, who are married to identical twin brothers, Josh and Jeremy Salyers, have become parents of sons who happen to be cousins but genetic brothers. This sets up an interesting family scenario in which the sons, named Jett and Jax, share more genetic material than any other regular cousins would.

The twins married in August 2018 in a joint ceremony with the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. Less than a year after the weddings, both couples had their first children: Brittany delivered Jett in January 2021, while Briana gave birth to Jax in April of the same year. Even though the boys were born three months apart, they are referred to as “quaternary twins,” a term coined for the children of two sets of identical twins.

That is an unusual genetic linkage, if there ever was one. It has received its share of confusion among onlookers: how can Jett and Jax be both cousins and brothers? The reason for that is because of their mothers’ identical twin status, wherein both mothers would carry the same DNA with their husbands; hence, the genetic makeup of the boys is awful similar. If in fact there were to be any DNA testing conducted on them, they probably would come out as brothers, not cousins.

Brittany and Briana have since shared this amazing story on their social media, accompanied by a photo of their sons; the caption read, “Cousins, Genetic Brothers and Quaternary Twins!” This indeed brought along interesting family dynamics, sparking discussions of the outcomes associated with these types of relationships.

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A post shared by Josh, Jeremy, Brittany, Briana (@salyerstwins)

They do want to be able to share in all the significant milestones of life, and eventually, hopefully, other pregnancies that will overlap,” she said. The couples have gained a following through their reality appearances on TLC’s Extreme Sisters. They shared their lives with people as families entwined through both love and genetics.