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Twins separated at birth met on national TV. Now they hang out and act like sisters.

Laura Schulte
Wausau Daily Herald
Audrey Doering, left, rides a hoverboard while her twin sister Gracie Rainsberry paddles a bike Wednesday, July 25, 2018, at the Doerings' house in Wausau, Wis.

WAUSAU - Gracie Rainsberry and Audrey Doering like to play in the front yard of the Doering home. 

Gracie rides her bike while Audrey zooms along on her hoverboard, both laughing and talking. 

The 11-year-olds are identical twins. They look alike, and they act as if they've grown up together. 

In fact, they only met for the first time about a year and a half ago, on national television.  

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"We're just getting to know each other," Gracie said. 

Audrey's mom, Jennifer Doering of Wausau, discovered her adopted daughter had a twin while digging to find Audrey's "found ad," which would have been placed when she was abandoned as a baby in China. That search led her to a photo of two identical Audreys, sitting on their foster mother's lap. 

That photo led Doering on a search that ended up in the email inbox the Rainsberry family — including Gracie — who live in Richland, a city in eastern Washington state. The two families decided that their daughters, then 10, needed to know about each other. They met via a Facetime chat in the winter of 2016, and eventually went on to meet each other in person on a Good Morning America broadcast in January 2017. 

Audrey Doering, right, talks with her twin sister Gracie Rainsberry. Audrey lives in Wausau; Gracie is in Richland, Washington. The two spoke for the first time this month.

Since then, the girls, who each have three older siblings, have been spending time together whenever they can. The families have met up eight different times, the girls noted.  Audrey goes to visit Gracie in Washington, and Gracie comes back to Wausau for visits, too. Right now, Gracie and her dad, Scott Rainsberry are staying with the Doering family.

It's been a wild year and a half for the two families, but they wouldn't have it any other way, said Jennifer Doering and Scott Rainsberry as they listen to the twins laugh and play. 

"It's been fun getting to know them, and interesting how similar the girls are," said Doering. 

Since their first in-person meeting on Good Morning America, the families have traveled back and forth so the girls could spend time together. In Washington, the two attended a summer church camp for a week. And for their 11th birthdays, the families went to San Diego together. 

Audrey Doering, right, and her twin sister Gracie Rainsberry pose for a photo Wednesday, July 25, 2018, at the Doerings' house in Wausau, Wis.

For Audrey and Gracie, it's meant getting to know the sister neither knew she had. They play soccer and practice gymnastics, and they argue, too, they said. Most recently, they had a debate over who was taller. 

"She said she was two and a half inches taller, but then we agreed on an inch and a half," Audrey said. 

"We'll have to measure that later," Gracie replied.

As the two girls played in the front yard, Jennifer Doering and Scott Rainsberry talked about how the families have gotten to know each other. 

"When somebody asks (the girls) how many siblings they have, it's a difficult answer," Rainsberry said. "The more our families hang out, the more it's like extended family." 

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Doering agreed, and said she's glad that the families took the leap and got to know each other while bringing the families together. 

Gracie Rainsberry, left, and her twin sister Audrey Doering play a basketball game Wednesday, July 25, 2018, the Doerings' house in Wausau, Wis.

"It's a very small club that we're a part of, families like this, but it's cool," she said. 

But the best thing for the parents is watching Audrey and Gracie light up when they're together. 

"When they're together, it's like they never were apart," Doering said.