Dominican Republic Sisters Find Each Other

“They look alike, sound alike and even have the same tattoo. But even with those stark similarities, adoption paperwork said it was impossible they could be sisters until a DNA test nine years later proved otherwise.“Everyone is like ‘how exciting,’ and we’re like ‘yeah,’ and they’re like ‘so tell us how it started,’ and we’re like ‘in 2013…’ haha.”

So, let’s start there. It was 2013. Cassandra Madison and Julia Tinetti were working at the Russian Lady in New Haven. Cassandra walked swiftly past Julia who noticed her Dominican Republic tattoo on her left arm. Julia has the same one on her back.

Julia: “I was like ‘hey are you from the Dominican Republic?’ and she like speeds past me and she’s like ‘yeah but I’m adopted.’ And I’m like ‘wait so am I!’”

An instant connection.

Cassandra: “There was no like ‘she’s alright’, like no we hit it off and it was like dadadada like it was non stop.”

They bonded over being adopted and raised by single mothers in the United States. And even though other people told them they looked alike, errors on Julia’s adoption paperwork said it wasn’t possible.

Julia on TikTok: “We started twinning, we wore the same clothes, we actually bought shirts one day that said ‘I’m the big sister/I’m the little sister.’”

An eager Cassie wouldn’t let it go. She finally asked her biological father about giving up another child. He admitted he gave up a little girl.

Cassie: “He was like ‘I’m just so sorry it was just a hard time for your mommy, and I just don’t like to think about it.’ That day, I came home and my husband was like, ‘babe how was work?’ And I’m like ‘I’m going to Connecticut tomorrow’ and he’s like ‘what!?’”

A long car ride and a DNA tube later that’s all it took. Two weeks later the girls shared the news on TikTok.

To think, for nine years these women had a lot more in common than looks and a tattoo. These sisters definitely not strangers.

When Cassandra started the search for her birth family two years ago, she and Julia found out they had seven other siblings. Out of nine children, Julia and Cassandra were the only two adopted.”

Biological sisters separated by adoption find each other by chance working at New Haven restaurant

[WTNH 2/28/21. by Amber Diaz]

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