These triplets were separated in childhood by an experience. The big question is whether the result was worth it

For Robert Shafran, then 19, the first day at university was more than strange: strangers greeted him as if he were an old friend, asking how he was doing. Some students even kissed him. Robert was totally confused, until one of the students asked him what his date of birth was and if he had been adopted by his family. Upon hearing the affirmative answer, the new acquaintance exclaimed, “You have a twin brother!” Robert was a little scared, because he never thought he had a brother, let alone two!

we, from awesome.club, we are not talking about a movie script, but a true story, which took place in 1980 in New York. Read on to find out the details about this case, which would indeed yield a great plot for Hollywood.

When Robert Shafran entered university, he was mistaken for his twin brother, whom he had never heard of. His brother was Eddy Galland, a sophomore. One of the students gave Robert Eddy’s phone number. Robert called and froze to hear a voice so similar to his own coming on the other end of the line. On the same day, the brothers met and were in shock: one seemed to be a copy of the other. The adoptive parents were also impacted, as none of them suspected the existence of the twins.

It didn’t take long for the story about the brothers’ meeting to reach the local press. One of the published news was seen by a student at another university named David Kellman. In the photo, he saw that the two faces were exactly the same as what he saw when he stood in front of the mirror. David got Eddy’s parents’ phone number and called them. “God, they’re coming out of everywhere!” shouted, in a good-natured way, the adoptive mother after the conversation.

The triplets in the movie Desperately Looking for Susan

Finally, the brothers were able to reunite: Robert, David and Eddy. Not only the physical appearance was evident, but the boys also had the same preferences, for example, linked to sports (they practiced wrestling), cigarettes (they all smoked Marlboro) and women (they liked the older ones). The charismatic triplets soon became stars and were loved by the public: they became characters in articles in newspapers and magazines, were invited to participate in TV and to work in the cinema. This is how the three appeared in the movie Desperately Seeking Susan, with Madonna in the lead role. And photographer Annie Leibovitz, who specializes in portraits of celebrities, asked young people to pose for her.

The meeting really changed the lives of each of the brothers, and not just because of their fame. They were so happy to have met that they later said, “It’s like we’re in love.” They completed each other’s sentences, even making similar gestures. The young people rented an apartment for the three of them, and in 1988, they opened the Triplets (“Trigêmeos”) restaurant in a trendy New York neighborhood.

While Robert, David and Eddy were all overjoyed at the reunion, their adoptive parents were very surprised that the adoption agency never reported anything about the triplets. When they approached the entity, they heard that giving the three brothers to a single family would be a very difficult task. But of course that wasn’t the real reason. Up until that point, the parents hadn’t been getting honest answers.

In fact, the triplets, without even knowing it, participated in an experiment that had the purpose of verifying the influence of education on someone’s personality. At the time, experts did not take into account the ethical issue when developing the experiment.

A teenager gave birth to triplets on July 12, 1961. It appears there were four babies, but one of them died in childbirth. At 6 months old, the brothers were separated: they became participants in an experiment led by researchers Peter Neubauer and Viola Bernard. Through a renowned adoption agency, the Louise Wise Agency, the boys were purposely given to three different families, each with a different income level and priorities. The first family was middle class, the second was working class and the third was rich. In common, the families had the fact that they had adopted girls from the same agency two years earlier.

None of the adoptive parents were informed about the experience, nor were they aware of the existence of their children’s identical twins. Periodic visits by specialists were justified as part of the usual practice in cases of adoption. Initially, the scientists visited the boys more than four times a year. As they grew older, the meetings took place once a year. The triplets performed tests of cognitive ability, and all encounters were videotaped. Officially, the study lasted 10 years, but according to reports, the boys continued to be observed beyond that period.

Robert, David and Eddy weren’t the only children participating in the experiment. There are several others, but the exact number is unknown. Some results of Peter Neubauer’s study were published in an article and a book, published in 1986 and 1990, respectively. The full study has not been released until today. Everything is stored at Yale University in the USA, and access to the material is restricted until the year 2065.

David Kellman and Robert Shafran at The 3rd Annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.

The brothers not only looked the same, but they also had similar tastes. According to all of their adoptive parents, during childhood the boys had a habit of hitting their head using the bed bars whenever they were angry. David is sure this was a sign of separation anxiety. It was later proven that the three brothers had low vision and amblyopia (known as “lazy eye”), but only one of them received treatment (something that the other two resented).

In addition, all of them had mental health problems. As students, David and Eddy attended psychiatric clinics, while Robert was arrested and placed on parole for a robbery. “The experts knew we had problems. And they could have helped. But what bothers me is that they didn’t do it.”recalls David.

The encounter brought joy to the triplets’ lives, but discovering the truth about the experience had negative consequences on the emotional side of all of them. As an adult, Robert said: “They called us test volunteers. But we are victims. That’s the big difference. They treated us like lab rats. But we are human beings.”

In time, the triplets got married. David had two girls, Robert fathered a boy and a girl, while Eddy had a daughter.

Eddy was more attached to his brothers, and he moved several times to be closer to them. He had a difficult relationship with his adoptive father, so after seeing his brothers again, he felt he had finally found a family, and he did what he could to be with them. Unfortunately, due to bipolar disorder, Eddy committed suicide in 1995. At the time, the relationship between the triplets was no longer the same because of Robert’s departure from the business they had together. The tragedy dealt a heavy blow to David and Robert, who began to drift apart, until they lost touch.

The two returned to communicate during the filming of the documentary. Three Identical Strangers🇧🇷 The film was released in 2018, and the premiere drew tears from many viewers. After that, a couple approached David and Robert with the words: “On behalf of all research psychologists in the world, we ask forgiveness.”

What is your opinion on experiences of this type? Do you think anything goes in the name of science? Comment!