When Paula O'Brien and Abbey Donohoe first met at a party thrown by a mutual friend four years ago in Bettendrof, Iowa, the other guests were struck by how alike they both looked. The comparisons even went as far as calling 29-year-old Abbey and 39-year-old Paula sisters - but incredibly, a Facebook posting from last week revealed those first impressions to be not so far from the truth. On Wednesday, March 6th, Paula sent out a heartfelt post recalling how her brother gave up his daughter for adoption almost 30-years-ago, which set in motion a chain of events which revealed that Abbey was in fact that child - Paula's niece.
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Paula O'Brien, 39, discovered last week that her friend of four years, Abbey Donohoe, 29, is in fact her niece
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Abbey was given up for adoption by Paula's brother almost 30-years-ago
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Paula's family has celebrated Abbey's birthday every year in her absence
Abbey Donohoe (left) discovered that Paula O'Brien (right) was her aunt after a random Facebook post mentioning her adoption was posted by @placeholder last week