Everyone Said These Friends Were Weirdly Similar – But Then A DNA Test Revealed The Crazy Truth

Going back to their relationship, Madison and Tinetti formed the kind of bond that most of us would envy. To say they’re close is a massive understatement! So that’s got us wondering: how did it all start? Well, the pair first crossed paths at their place of work a few years ago.

Yes, Madison and Tinetti were introduced in 2013 during their stint with the Russian Lady Bar in Connecticut. Yet neither of them could’ve predicted what happened from there. You see, as they got to know each other, the duo discovered that they shared an incredible link. The kind that wouldn’t seem out of place in a movie or TV show.

Tinetti spotted a tattoo of the Dominican Republic’s banner on Madison’s arm, prompting her to reveal that she sported one as well. Then once the co-workers established that they shared the same home nation, another bit of information emerged. Remarkably, they’d both been put up for adoption as kids. What a crazy set of coincidences!

Anyway, Tinetti shed some light on what transpired next during an interview with Good Morning America in February 2021. She said, “After that moment, we were so tight. We started hanging out. We would go out for drinks, for dinner. We started dressing alike.” As for Madison, she also touched on their undeniable chemistry.

Madison noted, “I thought [Tinetti] was cool. We just kind of hit it off right away. It was very natural.” So just like that, a solid friendship was forged between two women who had more in common than they first thought. But the unbelievable similarities in their personal stories didn’t end there.

Let’s start with Madison. She was welcomed into the world back in 1988, yet she didn’t stick around the Dominican Republic for too long. After her arrival, her folks soon put her up for adoption. Near enough the exact same thing happened to Tinetti, although she was delivered a year later in 1989.

From there, Tinetti made New Haven, Connecticut, her home in the United States. As she got older, she also branched out a bit to further her education, earning a spot at Curry College in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, Madison went down a slightly different path, as she enjoyed a spell with the Navy.

And that pattern only continued once Tinetti and Madison became the best of buds in 2013. Yes, after their meeting at the Russian Lady Bar, the latter eventually switched her focus to another profession: dentistry. She enrolled at the Porter and Chester Institute as a “Dental Assisting Technician” student in 2014.

Off the back of that, Madison scored a different job that November. She was hired by the Life Long Dental Care practice, which operates around Connecticut. The navy veteran worked as a dental assistant during her time there, leaving the position in the summer of 2015. That’s some resume she’s built!

But 2015 was significant for another reason too. Why? Well, Madison decided to say goodbye to Connecticut that year, as she packed her bags for Virginia Beach, Virginia. Despite that, though, her ties to Tinetti weren’t severed as a result. They managed to maintain their close relationship via social media.

That’s just the way life goes, right? Not everyone stays in the same place forever. Yet before Madison opted to leave Connecticut behind, both she and Tinetti were subjected to wondering glances by their colleagues at the Russian Lady Bar. The group struggled to get a crazy idea out of their heads.

Now as we mentioned a little earlier, Madison and Tinetti share an uncanny physical resemblance to each other. So keeping that in mind, their work friends suggested that they could be siblings. The duo even leaned into it, with the ex-dental assistant admitting on Facebook that they’d say “we’re sisters” to whoever listened.

Here’s the thing, though. While it might’ve seemed like a harmless, long-term joke between a group of pals, Tinetti and Madison did give it serious consideration. Could they really be sisters? If it was anyone else, you’d probably say there was no chance. But from what we’ve learned so far, this isn’t your everyday tale!

Think about it. Madison and Tinetti’s younger years in the Domican Republic followed identical paths within 12 months of each other. Who’s to say that they didn’t have the same parents ahead of their respective adoptions? On that note, the friends did a bit of digging and dusted off the relevant files.

We can only imagine what Tinetti and Madison were feeling during those moments. Would this be the biggest twist of all in a friendship littered with jaw-dropping coincidences? A Hollywood ending, if you will. Well, not quite. They got their answers – and the news was a real buzzkill. Sorry folks!

Tinetti told Good Morning America in April 2021, “[The adoption] papers said we were from two different cities [with] different last names. And our mothers’ names on our paperwork were different.” Just like that, the romantic notion that the pair were actually long-lost siblings was abruptly squashed. Yet despite that disappointment, they still couldn’t shake the idea.

In Madison’s opinion, their similarities to each other had to be more than coincidental, regardless of what the paperwork stated. Anyway, when she upped sticks to Virginia in 2015, that might’ve signaled the end of this story. Instead, it continued to simmer for the next few years, leading to a shocking discovery.

One of the biggest catalysts in that respect came during the festive period in 2018. At that point, Madison’s adopted mom gifted her with a DNA test from the company 23andMe. In case you didn’t know, the latter specializes in tracking down family members who share the same genes – perfect for someone looking into their past.

To say Madison was surprised would be underselling it. As she recalled to Good Morning America, “I did not know that you can find a relative, so that was very much a shock.” Before long, the Navy vet uncovered a bunch of family members living in far-flung places. Pretty cool, right?

Back in Connecticut, though, someone else decided to look into Madison and Tinetti’s history. Her name is Molly Sapadin, and she too went through a similar experience to the pair when she was younger. Yes, Sapadin was born in the Dominican Republic in 1990, before being put up for adoption.

Once a family from New Haven had taken Sapadin in, her adopted mom struck up a bond with the woman looking after Tinetti. As a result of that, the girls became pals and have remained close ever since. What a ride! But if you thought that was something, this next part could really blow your mind.

Now before we dive into it, we’re going to be honest with you. Things are about to get a little complicated. Fear not, though – we’ll be with you every step of the way. So are you ready? Okay then. After Tinetti and Madison seemingly drew a blank when looking at their files earlier, Sapadin went on to consult hers.

Yet that’s not the only thing Sapadin did. She informed Good Morning America that she had brought up Madison’s files as well, to look at the information side-by-side. Mind you, we don’t think Tinetti’s buddy was in any way prepared for what she’d find that day. Strap in folks, it’s a doozy.

Incredibly, it appeared that Sapadin and Madison were half-sisters. You see, the documentation indicated that the women shared a surname and had matching biological moms. What a twist! But neither they nor Tinetti were convinced of the files’ accuracy. In fact, they had an unusual theory. And it stemmed from yet another coincidence.

As it turns out, Tinetti and Sapadin were taken in by their adoptive families at the exact same time within a stone’s throw of each other. That’s absolutely unbelievable! On that note, the duo and Madison were of the opinion that the documentation had somehow been switched. Was that a possibility, or just wishful thinking?

Well, at the turn of 2021 Sapadin got the answer. She underwent a DNA test herself, which confirmed Madison was actually a “third cousin.” On top of that, Tinetti’s pal also found out that she had a long-lost twin. So their theory did indeed prove to be true: the information didn’t match up anymore.

Still with us? Good. Not even Christopher Nolan’s movies are this complex! So what happened after Sapadin made her discovery? To answer that, we need to go back to the point when Madison took her DNA test in 2018. Alongside the family members she uncovered, she found a cousin as well.

That person then directed Madison to her dad – a man named Adriano Luna Collado. Once they opened a dialogue, she took a trip to the country of her birth in 2018 to see him. Sadly, though, the Navy vet couldn’t meet her mom, Yulianna Collado. She’d passed away some three years before.

So Madison reconnected with her biological family, getting to know her seven brothers and sisters. Yep, it’s a big clan! While this was going on, the bombshell regarding Sapadin and Tinetti’s adoption papers hadn’t come into play yet. It was still a theory, meaning she didn’t feel the need to raise questions about a secret sibling.

But that quickly changed when Sapadin’s DNA test results came back in 2021. At that point, Madison wanted confirmation that Tinetti was her sister, as she spoke to Collado. Did her parents hand over a second child to be adopted in the past? His response was cagey to say the least.

Recalling their conversation, Madison told Good Morning America, “[My dad] said, ‘It was just a difficult time for your mom and I. So, I don’t like to talk about it. I don’t like to think about it.’” In the end, though, Collado braved the internal pain and revealed that they had indeed given up a second kid.

Without hesitation, Madison set her sights on Tinetti. By now, everything was pointing towards them being related, but she wanted to be 100 percent sure. So the former dental assistant encouraged her friend to get tested. And as January 2021 was coming to a close, they finally had their answers.

After a crazy journey, Tinetti’s DNA test proved that she and Madison were sisters. Life really is stranger than fiction at times, right? Anyway, you’re probably wondering why the pair were given up for adoption in the first place. Especially considering that their seven siblings didn’t go anywhere. What happened?

Tinetti shared a few details with Good Morning America. During the period when her mom gave birth to Madison, she and her husband were finding it tough to look after their poorly son. The New Haven resident said, “On top of the Dominican Republic being a very poor country, they couldn’t take care of us. I was [born] 17 months later, and they weren’t ready.”

So how does Tinetti feel now the truth’s out? She admitted, “[I’m] still processing the magnitude of the situation. This is the type of thing you see on TV. Finding my biological family just wasn’t a thing for me. I grew up with a great family, so I just kind of left it to what it was.”

As for Madison, when she heard the news she quickly shared an announcement via her Facebook page, detailing the story. Given how unbelievable it was, the post generated a lot of attention, as it earned over 2,700 likes and 1,800 shares. Plus it garnered nearly 200 comments from social media users.

If that wasn’t enough, outlets such as the Daily Mail’s website, People magazine and Inside Edition also picked up on the sisters’ tale. It was a viral hit! Due to that online attention, though, Tinetti and Madison discovered their newfound “fame” opened up an unexpected door. They essentially became ambassadors to a sensitive cause.

Tinetti told Good Morning America, “People who were adopted are now reaching out to us, which is really special. That to me, [means] more than anything. I also try to remember not every story has a happy ending… I’d say be prepared for anything.” Madison concurred with that last point.

Madison added, “[You need to] be prepared. They may not want to meet you and may have closed that chapter of their life. For me, it’s always been, ‘I’m going to find these people if it’s the last thing I do.’ I was going to die trying.” Thankfully for her and Tinetti, it didn’t need to come to that.