A mum says strangers don't believe her when she tells them her two children - born two years apart - are twins.
Jorgey McCarthy, four, and Vinney McCarthy, two, were conceived at the same time, meaning they are non-identical twins.
Parents Rachel McCarthy, 35, and Mac McCarthy, 45 from Cambridgeshire - who underwent IVF - froze half of their created embryos to try and conceive in the future, which explains why the twins have a two year age gap.
Rachel and Mac decided to go down the IVF route after Mac had had a vasectomy and an attempted reversal had failed.
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Following two failed IVF attempts and £10,000 in costs, Rachel and Mac created the four embryos, with Jorgey and Vinney making it to full term.
Rachel said: "Mac's vasectomy reversal didn't work so we knew that IVF was the only way we would be able to have children.
"It was such a rollercoaster - I was so happy when I got that positive pregnancy test both times but still very wary because I'd had previous miscarriages.
"Jorgey and Vinney were from embryos in the same batch, making them non-identical twins even though they were born two years apart.
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"They definitely have a strong twin bond and don't seem to notice the age difference. They're absolutely inseparable - they're always together and if not they're asking about each other. Their favourite thing to do is have sleepovers in each other's rooms.
"Two years is quite a difference when they're young so people can't believe it when I say they're twins. But I think once they get older and Vinney catches Jorgey up in height people will think they're ordinary twins."
The couple first approached a private clinic in the UK, but were told it would cost £13,000 for one round of IVF. But Rachel, who lived in Spain for over a decade, had heard about a friend's successful IVF experience in Spain for a third of the UK cost.
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After looking into the treatment options abroad, the couple then spent around £10,000 on three rounds of IVF over the course of 18 months in Spain.
"We knew the success rate on the first round of IVF was quite low so we decided to go abroad where it was so much cheaper and we could afford more than one go," she continued.
"We had three attempts - the first two times we only got to the egg collection stage because the eggs weren't good enough quality to become embryos.
"On the third attempt we were lucky enough to get four embryos so we transferred two and froze the other two.
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"From the first transfer I fell pregnant with twins but at the 12 week scan we found out only one had survived - Jorgey.
"It was hard because I wanted to be happy and excited that one baby had survived but at the same time I was really sad that the other one hadn't - I felt guilty for feeling happy."
After devastating miscarriages the couple decided that their two remaining frozen embryos would be their last attempt. Out of the two transferred frozen embryos little Vinney made it to full term and was born in June 2019.
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"We waited 18 months after having Jorgey to try for another baby," said Rachel.
"The doctor asked if we wanted to transfer the two embryos together or lose one since they were frozen together and had to be used at the same time.
"I couldn't bear to think about getting rid of one so we transferred both and it's a good job we did because we lost another one of them and might have ended up with none.
"I really wanted a sibling for Jorgey because I'm adopted and grew up with foster siblings and it's such an amazing bond.
"I was completely ecstatic when the pregnancy came back positive, knowing she was going to have a little brother or sister who would be her non-identical twin.
"I was also relieved that the IVF journey was complete and we didn't have to have that conversation about having to try again."
What a lovely happy ending!
Featured Image Credit: Dumbletons Photography/Kennedy NewsTopics: Life News, Parenting, Real Life