The Twin Connection

Meet cover models Chrissy and Madi Hart

It’s a drizzly autumn day on the set of Good’s latest cover shoot. The rain isn’t bothering twin sisters Madi and Chrissy Hart though, as they huddle happily together under a Blunt umbrella between shots. Madi nuzzles her head into the neck of her twin and tells our crew how they often snuggle into each other for comfort. Chrissy then recalls a time at a recent event where a woman approached the pair and said she’d seen them walking down the street holding hands. “That was embarrassing,” says Chrissy, still giggling. But you can tell she and Madi wouldn’t have it any other way.

You can call Madi and Chrissy siblings, but after watching them together, albeit for just a couple of hours, I’d lean more towards the term ‘soul sisters’. It’s obvious these two share a bond that goes beyond simply sharing the same genes – a bond that only another twin could understand. I call my twin brother Dan my ‘womb buddy’ – largely because, at 24 years old, it makes him cringe. But also because I share a different connection with him than I do with anyone else. I can tell what’s on his mind, and it’s likewise with him. We spook each other often – coming out with the most random of things in unison. We call it our ‘twin thing’.

My mum is also a twin and loves to share the story about how when she lived in the UK some years ago, and her sister Lorna lived here in New Zealand, they’d both pick up the phone to call each other at exactly the same time. Each would dial the other’s number, only to find the line was engaged. Lorna even presented to hospital with stomach pains at the very same time Mum was in labour with Dan and I on the other side of the world.

Chrissy and identical twin Madi do everything together. They are at one another’s side 24/ 7. They speak in unison, finish each other’s sentences and share nearly all of the same interests.

Says Madi, “A lot of the time when we are trying to explain something, or make a point, we find it so hard to speak in a way that others understand, because when we are talking to each other we can just say a few words and the other will know what you’re trying to say.”

Mirror images

Chrissy and Madi (21) are mirror image twins, meaning they’re identical twins who, when facing each other, appear as matching reflections, or mirror images of each other. Mirror image twins are a result of a fertilised egg splitting later in the embryonic stage than normal timing, and account for about one quarter of identical twins.

Chrissy is right handed while Madi is left handed. They each have a preferred side they gravitate to when they’re standing beside one another and, often, while growing up, one twin would have an injury or loose tooth on one side of her body, while the other would have the same on the opposite side. While they were modelling for Good the entire crew noticed the unique way both girls continuously, and unintentionally, moved their heads and bodies in complete symmetry to one another.

While the girls share many of the same interests, they also value their individual pursuits, particularly in their chosen career paths. Chrissy is in her last year of a 2D animation diploma while Madi is completing a degree in business.

Says Chrissy, “We share our individual interests and support each other always. She shares everything with me and I try to understand it. Madi isn’t super-interested in drawing but when I say ‘I’m going to go and draw’ she’s like, ‘Yes! You go and do that.’”

Rollercoaster ride

“When we are talking to each other we can just say a few words and the other will know what you’re trying to say.”

Madi Hart

Madi and Chrissy used to model for an Auckland modelling agency, signing as 16-year-olds in 2011. They walked away from the industry in their late teens but agreed to this cover shoot because we sought them out specially for their unique symmetry. The twins

had once struggled with body image issues and taken time out to get themselves well again.

“We weren’t chubby, but not really skinny either growing up, and one day in Year 10 [at around 15 years old], we were down at the beach with some friends and I went up to my mum and I said, ‘I’m never eating sh*t again, I look like crap.’ And from that day on we only ate vegetables and walked a lot.”

About a year later their modelling careers took off. But at the end of their high school years they quit the industry, after weight loss started taking its toll on their health. They made time to recreate healthier versions of themselves and pursue other passions.

“We started [modelling] when we were so young, so we were going through that strange [body image] mentality already, but we didn’t think there was anything wrong with that at the time,” says Madi.

“When we were really skinny, our mum had to see the doctor and he was like, ‘If they are going to hospital, they have to go to separate hospitals, because they encourage each other and they make it like a competition. And if they’re in hospital and the other one keeps losing weight, the other one will be really upset.’

“They were going to have to separate us, but our mum put her foot down and said ‘that’s not happening’, so we didn’t end up going,” says Chrissy. “Which was fantastic because that would have been an awful thing to go through,” says Madi.

Healthy is beautiful

Fast forward a few years, and with their health now firmly back on track, the girls are regaining their confidence one step at a time. With their successful Good shoot now behind them they’re even considering a return to modelling.

“When we were talking about coming to see you guys I was sitting at uni and I thought, ‘I can’t do it, Chrissy. I’m not going to see them,’ because we just didn’t feel comfortable,” says Madi.

But the pair both acknowledge the only way to move forward and feel more comfortable in their own skin is to put themselves out there again. “The industry is changing a lot, so we have been really lucky with that as well. Everyone has been so supportive about us getting out there again. “And [today] was amazing. We are so happy to be a part of this shoot,” Chrissy says.

One thing is for sure though: no matter what life throws at these two, they will always have each other’s backs.

“I think, ‘Hell yeah, I’m lucky to be Madz’ twin, I wouldn’t be able to make basic life decisions without her. She rocks my world, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”