Best friends of 17 years find out they’re sisters

Ashley Thomas and Latoya Wimberly have so much in common, they’ve been calling themselves sisters for years.

Not only do the best friends have similar tastes in music and fashion, but they also had the same gaps in their teeth as kids, the same high cheekbones, the same complexion and even the same shoe size.

Ever since they met at a birthday party 17 years ago, the two women haven’t gone a single day without at least talking on the phone. Thomas told CNN she and Wimberly are “stuck to each other like glue.”

In February, Thomas and Wimberly learned that their close, sisterly bond isn’t just emotional — it’s biological, too.

Source: Facebook

The mystery started coming to light in January, when Wimberly, 29, threw a party to celebrate her engagement. Thomas, 31, shared photos of the party to Facebook, including some featuring her best friend’s father, Kenneth Wimberly.

A family friend recognized him in the pictures as someone she and Thomas’ mother used to hang out with when they were younger. Word got around to Wimberly, who then shared a photo of Thomas’ mom with her father.

He confirmed that they once knew each other — and that they had a brief romantic relationship.

Thomas has known since she was 15 that the man who raised her was not her biological father, but her mother, who died 11 years ago, never told her who her father actually was.

With this in mind, the two best friends and Kenneth Wimberly split the cost of a DNA test. Weeks later, the results confirmed Wimberly and Thomas had been half-sisters all along.

“It was a Friday, and I was at work when I got the call,” Thomas told CNN. “When Kenny told me he was my dad, chills went through my body. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t process it. I couldn’t even talk to them.”

Now that the initial shock has settled, Wimberly and Thomas have been working to find their new normal.

“The first few nights I couldn’t go to sleep,” Thomas told Good Morning America. “I’m happy that she’s my sister.”

Wimberly says it’s been an emotional experience.

“I watched Ashley go through so many things growing up,” she told CNN. “Now all I can think about is that her father was here and he could have been there for her just like he was for me.”

As their already close bond grows tighter and adds a father figure into the mix, Wimberly told CNN they’re just focused on the “journey.”

The post Best friends of 17 years find out they’re sisters appeared first on In The Know.

More from In The Know:

Unique housewarming gifts under $50

This $20 bedazzled keychain can help save your life

Be prepared overseas with this bestselling $14 universal adapter