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insight au 2026 04 21 triplets
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00:00Hi, I'm Kumi Taguchi on this episode of Insight, the unique world of triplets.
00:06Like we fight all the time and we have very different music tastes, so like...
00:09Not really that different.
00:10Well, not fully that different.
00:12I was the third wheel.
00:14Couldn't feel my legs, they went numb.
00:16So you were experiencing exactly what Kelly was experiencing.
00:19I had recurring dreams for a couple of weeks beforehand that something was going to happen to Kelly.
00:24Had the quietest four minutes of my life, killing in the womb while my womb buddies were out in the
00:30real world.
00:35Kelly, when you were 21, you had an accident.
00:38What happened?
00:40I was pretty adventurous at 21 and I decided I wanted to get my skydiving licence.
00:46Unfortunately, my first jump didn't go to plan.
00:50I had a bit of an accident, fracturing my spine.
00:53I, um, obviously couldn't feel my legs.
00:57I crushed my spinal, 80% of my spinal column.
01:00Christine and Jackie, you are Kelly's identical triplet sisters.
01:03Christine, what do you remember about that accident?
01:06I was there at the time and I remember having to travel in the ambulance and I was sitting at
01:13the front and couldn't feel my legs.
01:15They went numb.
01:15And then when she had her surgery where they put in the plates and pins, I was at work at
01:22the time.
01:23And I just remember standing there and just getting really dizzy and just didn't feel right.
01:29So you were experiencing exactly what Kelly was experiencing.
01:34Jackie, you weren't there that day.
01:36How did you find out about Kelly's accident?
01:39I got a phone call from my mother, who Christine was lucky enough to have to call.
01:44And all she said to me was, don't go anywhere, don't do anything, bad luck happens in threes.
01:51Really?
01:51I had recurring dreams for a couple of weeks beforehand that something was going to happen to Kelly, but in
01:57my dream she died.
01:58Oh, really?
02:00Yes.
02:01Christine, what was it like growing up as a triplet?
02:05We didn't know any different, but we were dressed alike.
02:08We went to school together in the same class for the first years of schooling.
02:14Our first day of school.
02:15Our first day of school.
02:16We felt sorry for everybody else.
02:18We had the cameraman there from Channel 9 News filming it.
02:21It was in the local paper.
02:24The triplet van would turn up.
02:26The triplet van.
02:28It was a bit of a circus.
02:31And what about the teachers?
02:32How did they treat you?
02:34We used to get compared, but we would swap.
02:37We did swap classes as well.
02:39So we did that right up probably until year seven.
02:41That was vastly encouraged by the teachers.
02:42It wasn't always our doing.
02:44As we got older, the teachers would encourage us.
02:47And then the teachers that would just lump you as one.
02:50Jackie, did you have to share things with your sisters?
02:53We had to do the same activities, whether you wanted to or not,
02:57because mum could only drop off at one place and pick up from one place.
03:01So if one wanted to do calisthenics, we all did calisthenics.
03:05One did girl guides.
03:06We all had to do girl guides.
03:08Whether you liked it or not, that was just how it was.
03:10And what about birthdays, Christine?
03:12What were they like?
03:13I think it was our third birthday.
03:15I remember a cake that's actually iced in thirds.
03:19Oh, really?
03:20Different colours?
03:22Because we loved different cakes.
03:24And then as we got older, we'd have a big party with the three of us.
03:28But you'd have, you know, X amount of people we'd invite.
03:32It was sort of like your own party, but you still had to share the party.
03:35It was big.
03:36Kelly, did looking alike affect how others treated you?
03:41You were expected to be the same.
03:44You were compared with each other.
03:46So it might be, well, Christine did better in this, or why didn't you do as well?
03:51Or in school, teachers would say, oh, you know, we copied each other because we may have had similar thought
03:56patterns.
03:57We wrote very similar stuff to say in English.
04:00Wow.
04:01So you were around before AI was.
04:03Yeah.
04:03Oh, gosh.
04:06Christine, how did it feel being compared?
04:08It was horrible.
04:10It really was because we're different people still.
04:13Did that change how much you wanted to be an individual?
04:17Oh, God, yes.
04:18It was frustrating.
04:19Like, when it came to getting awards at school, they'd get the academic awards.
04:23And I'd be like, well, I'm just as smart as them.
04:27But I had to compete against those two.
04:30But it really made you try harder to be yourself.
04:33So one of the best things that happened was mum stopped dressing us alike.
04:37So we could explore our own taste.
04:40As soon as I was old enough to, I'd dye my hair every colour under the sun.
04:45So there was no mistaking I was not them.
04:48Oscar, you're here with your identical triplet brothers, Francis and Conrad.
04:52You're 17.
04:53Do you have the same group of friends?
04:55We actually do.
04:56So at school, we hang out in the same friendship group.
05:01I guess Francis really, he started making, like, brunch.
05:06He brunched out first.
05:08And he, and I also just think, oh, damn, how does Francis get all these friends?
05:12Because usually they would kind of hook the friends and then I would become friends with their friends, I guess.
05:20But I guess as time goes on, we make more, like, kind of separate friends.
05:24Yeah.
05:24More individual friends separate, but we all go back to the same group.
05:28Francis, do you share new friendships with your brothers or do you hang on to them?
05:32There was a time where I would, I would definitely want that friendship to myself.
05:36Like, I want it to be my friend and, like, oh, Francis is a friend, not our friend.
05:41It's only until, like, probably the last three years where I've just been hanging out with a friend and me,
05:46like, together and not my brothers.
05:47Because at first there was, like, I was like, oh, brothers, surely you come to this hangout?
05:52And they're like, no, Francis, you wanted to do it by yourself.
05:54And I was like, all right.
05:56Yeah, because we're all used to hanging out with people, all three of us together.
06:00So if we weren't talking to anyone, we could talk between ourselves.
06:03So it was easier to mingle.
06:05Yeah, and also, like, if my social battery's low, I'd be like, oh, Francis and Conrad, you guys do the
06:11talking.
06:11I'd just be here.
06:13You have a band together called Birdland.
06:16Let's have a look.
06:31You've got some good fans there.
06:34Oscar, does being a triplet influence the way you create music together?
06:38Oh, for sure.
06:41It's usually collaborative, but, like, we fight all the time and we have very different music tastes.
06:46So, like, not really that different.
06:47Well, not fully that different.
06:50Well, I mean, like, sometimes Conrad puts on stuff and I'm like, what the hell are you listening to?
06:55And that influences how we work together.
06:58Because if we want something in a song to go a certain way, someone would disagree.
07:02And we are very stubborn.
07:04Yeah, we all have set ideas and not want to budge.
07:06Yeah.
07:06But also, it's very convenient to be triplets and play music together because we rehearse whenever we want.
07:12We do, like, TikToks and Instagram stuff so we can record a video whenever we want.
07:17It's so convenient and because we're triplets, we can just tell the truth to each other.
07:22So, if we don't like something, we'll just be like, oh, that sucks.
07:24And, yeah.
07:25I'm not saying I don't get offended or anything, but I guess we always try and find, like, middle ground,
07:30like, for things.
07:32Because also we have, like, a connection, like, because we've lived together our whole lives, we're able to communicate.
07:39We can give each other looks and we know what to play or where we are in a song.
07:44Yeah, we really get into each other's groove when we're playing music, so we really sit into the beat.
07:51We get better at queuing with each other.
07:53I mean, that also comes with just playing music with the same people over and over again.
07:57But, yeah.
07:59Michelle and Justin, you're Conrad, Francis and Oscar's parents.
08:03What was it like once the news sunk in that you were expecting three babies?
08:10Well, it was a huge, huge shock.
08:13So, it took a really long time for that to set in, to be honest.
08:19And I think on the – when we found out Michelle had this – brought in this picture with these
08:25three little circles on it
08:26and she said, look, look, this is one.
08:28And then she pointed to two.
08:30And as soon as she pointed to two, I looked at the third one and I just thought, what's that?
08:33I thought it was like the scan where you had the head and the belly and the knee or something.
08:38And then I just remember I stripped down to my underpants and stood in front of the air conditioner
08:41because I thought I was going to pass out.
08:44Thankfully, my mum was at hand.
08:49But I remember going to bed that night and just thinking, this won't happen.
08:55And that's the thought that kind of calmed you at that moment.
08:59But then the next morning, you know, you wake up and it's like, what do we have to do to
09:03make sure this works perfectly
09:05and all the links you've got.
09:06And you spend all that time being paranoid about everything that happens
09:10and obviously continues on to their 17, 18.
09:13And apparently, according to my parents, when they're 52, you're still nervous about your kids and everything.
09:19Philomena, you're also a mother of triplets.
09:21How did you react when you first heard that you were expecting three at once?
09:25Yes, obviously, it was very shocking because I felt pregnant.
09:30I went to do my first ultrasound thinking it was one baby.
09:34And then it was a lady doing the scan.
09:36And then she was like, oh, my God.
09:38She started like, oh, my God, you have twins.
09:40And then I was very excited after screaming and everything.
09:44Like a minute later, she was like, oh, no, it's actually three.
09:47I'm like, what?
09:48And then I was quiet and she said, yeah, it's three.
09:52I didn't believe it.
09:53I was like, you said it was two a minute ago and now you're saying it's three.
09:57And at the back of my head, I was like, don't end up saying it's one because I love twins.
10:02But, yeah, it just ended up being three or so.
10:06You'd been in Australia for two years at that point.
10:09How did your family in Ghana react to the news?
10:13I actually did not tell them straight away because I couldn't believe that it's true that I'm having three.
10:18So I kind of hide that from them a little bit, even though they knew I was pregnant.
10:23But I didn't tell them that I was having triplet until I actually saw three babies on the bed, like
10:28when they were born.
10:29That's why I was like, yeah, I told them.
10:31And of course, they were very happy, very surprised.
10:34Everyone was shocked.
10:36How did you carry three?
10:37Like so many questions, so many hows.
10:40Your kids, Shane, Chanel and Chanel were born nine years ago.
10:44How did you come up with their names?
10:47Oh, their names.
10:48OK, so I've always loved the name Shane.
10:52So I've had that name Shane like somewhere in my mind that in the future when I have a baby
10:57boy, I will name him Shane.
10:59So when it happens that I'm having three, I somehow drive Chanel from Shane.
11:05So when you look at the spellings, it's Shane and Chanette is spelled S-H-A-N-E-T-T
11:13-E.
11:13And then Chanel is S-H-A-N-E-L-L-E.
11:17So it's just somehow the same.
11:19And I've loved it.
11:20I wanted to do the rhyme names, so I just did it that way.
11:24Chanel and Chanette, you're identical.
11:27Do people confuse you with one another?
11:30Yeah, one time in year two and year one, we switched classes.
11:36Did you?
11:37For how long?
11:39How long was it again?
11:4430 minutes.
11:46I think it was 30 minutes.
11:48Oh, OK.
11:49So not too long.
11:49Not too long.
11:50And Shane, what's it like being the only boy?
11:53Oh.
11:55Hard.
11:57What about your sisters?
11:58Do they want to play with you?
11:59No.
12:00OK.
12:02And why do you not want to play with your brother?
12:05He's boring.
12:07Do you like being triplets?
12:10Yes, but no.
12:11What's the yes part?
12:12It's like if you don't have anyone to play with, you can play with them.
12:16But then the no bit is, for example, you say they can't come into your room.
12:22You go downstairs to get something.
12:24The next thing you know, they're in your room.
12:27Well, you guys have been great to have in the studio.
12:30Thank you so much for being with us.
12:31We're going to see you at the end of the show.
12:33So we'll take you out of the studio now.
12:37Mufanwi, you're a mother of four, including triplets.
12:40Here's what your daily life looks like.
12:44Hello.
12:45In truth, nothing can prepare you for going from a family of three to six in three minutes.
12:52It's out of this world.
12:56It's really overstimulating and you have to have eyes in the back of your head and you
13:02can't really describe it to someone that's never been in that level of chaos.
13:09And then Dad comes home.
13:11We have three fridges.
13:13Ah, nappy stock.
13:15We never want this to drop and I don't want to drop below this level of milk.
13:20Daddy, yum.
13:22Yum.
13:24Do you want to wear these shoes?
13:26Taking the triplets out is wild, but I have learnt to just go.
13:32You've got to get out that door and you've got to have an adventure because they're just
13:37three little minds that just need to be expanded.
13:40Here's the swing.
13:41My swing.
13:42And they're also keeping me to task because I need to get out the door to be not isolated
13:48as a mother and to connect with people.
13:51One for Ivy.
13:53One for Violet.
13:57One for Ophelia.
14:00Yum.
14:01But there are lots of looks, lots of heads that turn, lots of questions.
14:07Someone might say to me, oh, you chose this or you can handle this.
14:11Okay, in the wagon.
14:12And of course I chose to have another child, but I had no idea that there was going to be
14:19two others in there.
14:21Bye, coffee shop.
14:22Bye.
14:23Say thank you.
14:24Thank you, ma.
14:25Mufan, where your son is eight and the triplets are two, do you and your husband have extra support?
14:31Do you have extra support at home?
14:32No.
14:32So, as you saw, we live in a 2.5 bedroom apartment that we rent.
14:37It's up a couple of flights of stairs.
14:39I have to live in the city because it's for my husband's work.
14:43I manage work myself part-time.
14:46We don't have support.
14:47We have no family around.
14:49It's really difficult.
14:50And if I could get access to childcare, it would change the world.
14:55Every day is just like, go, go, go.
14:57It's just full of three bottles and dress the children.
15:00Then they've undressed themselves.
15:01And now we have to like clean up a mess over here.
15:04It's wonderful.
15:05And I'm a glass half full kind of person.
15:08I see the magic in it, but it is really overwhelming and taxing and I'm not supported.
15:14It's basically a military operation every day.
15:17I just don't have an army.
15:19Do you get financial support from the government?
15:22When the children were born, they were born in June of 2023.
15:26I received paid parental leave or PPL for the equivalent of 18 weeks.
15:31And then also I'm also eligible for like childcare subsidy.
15:35But for the paid parental leave, they actually class that by birth.
15:40That 18 weeks was for my three children.
15:44And sometimes I think and sit in my house and go, my sister's had three children and she has
15:49received three lots of paid parental leave.
15:52And the government has acknowledged that that has been increased every year.
15:57And I think next year, as of the middle of the year, it's going to go up to 26 weeks
16:01of
16:01paid leave to support mothers in that postpartum period in their life.
16:07And I had 18 weeks divided by three, six weeks recovery and paid leave for each of those children.
16:15Have you changed as a person since the girls arrived?
16:18I sometimes I'm overwhelmed by panic.
16:23Like I've presented to my GP and said, please send me for an ultrasound because I have brain fog.
16:30I've got chest pains.
16:31I'm so stressed.
16:33And it's actually panic.
16:34Like I'm overwhelmed.
16:35And it would be entirely a different experience if I was given more support,
16:40like early access to affordable, accessible childcare would allow me to restore my batteries.
16:47Do you feel like that panic too is very specific to triplets?
16:52I think I roll with the circus of this wonderful, magical children, but I'm very aware of how
17:00overstimulating it is.
17:01All of the sounds and the clicks and the Lego being smashed on the floor in one moment and
17:06then back to a door slamming and then someone's pulling hair.
17:10It is really taxing and overstimulating.
17:13And I think the panic comes from sleep deprivation, the fact that I've never been able to fully
17:18recover from the pregnancy.
17:20And it's just myself and my husband's back to work.
17:23It's the children's first.
17:25Your son was six when the triplets were born.
17:29Do you still manage to give him one-on-one time?
17:33One of the things I was chatting about with my husband recently, I said, we always used to read
17:38George a bedtime story.
17:40And now that's kind of lost.
17:42I mourn his childhood.
17:44He's had to grow up and become a helper to me.
17:48Recently, my husband was away and I put George to bed and he said, mum, can I tell you one
17:54more thing?
17:54And I was a bit like, George, come on.
17:57We've been doing this for half an hour.
17:58We have this little chitter-chatter time together, so it's just us.
18:02And he said, I just wanted to say that I know you're down a set of hands, so if you
18:07need me
18:08in the night, wake me up so I can help you with the girls.
18:11And he's eight and he's got grade two tomorrow.
18:14I'm so proud of him, but I'm sure, like everything, it has positive and negative.
18:21Tom, you have identical triplet sisters.
18:24They're eight years older than you.
18:26How did they welcome you to the family?
18:29Well, they were born in 1969.
18:33And so this was before IVF, so sort of totally natural birth.
18:39And actually my mum, because there was no scans back then, she only found out two months before
18:46she gave birth.
18:47She was quite big, but not massive.
18:49And she was feeling her belly and she felt like a foot and then another foot and then
18:56a third foot.
18:58And so she sort of worked it out herself.
19:00And then I came along eight years later and I was basically treated for the first couple
19:19And I was absolutely delighted.
19:20And in fact, I think they kind of wanted three of me so they could have one each.
19:25As you got older, did that same dynamic stay?
19:29Well, it was odd because I think by the time that I started to, you know, have my own views
19:35and kind of, you know, was able to speak.
19:38I mean, when I was eight, you know, they were 16.
19:40So we had a load of different interests and I think that I always felt that there was
19:47a kind of, yeah, separation, really.
19:49I looked at them like a bit of a sort of impenetrable unit in a way and or kind of
19:55members of a
19:57club that I certainly didn't have membership to.
20:01So they were off doing their own thing.
20:03And yeah, I felt a bit like an only child, really.
20:07We just didn't have that connection.
20:09During your school years, did that change?
20:12No, if anything, it just grew.
20:14And I think that it was very difficult to get to know them.
20:20And I never really, back then, understood why that was the case.
20:26We just seemed to live sort of separate lives.
20:29And they were a little bit like, you know, we lived in the same house, but actually they
20:34kind of had the room right at the top of the house.
20:36It sounds a bit sort of, you know, Victorian kind of literature, but they were up in the
20:40top and they didn't really kind of involve themselves in my life particularly.
20:46So, you know, I'd sort of see them wander past and catch glimpses of them, but never really
20:53was able to break in to form a kind of proper relationship.
20:58So they always felt a bit like ghosts in a way.
21:03Alex, you describe yourself in your show as a cripplet.
21:06Yeah.
21:06How does that go down?
21:08A lot of people feel quite uncomfortable about it.
21:11But with that, I was like, what's the quickest way that I can describe how I grew up?
21:15And it's like cripple, triplet, done.
21:22We'd lived in the house for 35 years.
21:24And it's not that long before it might be inaccessible to me, or let's hope Ralph, rather
21:30than me.
21:31Are you considering downsizing?
21:33I can't think of anything worse.
21:35I don't know any cashed up homeowner baby boomers, to tell you the truth.
21:39What have you done with your cases and cases of wine?
21:42We took a decision that now is the time to stop collecting and start drinking.
21:52So I'm on your team?
21:53Yep.
21:54I never felt like our family was normal.
21:57And I will even say to this day, I'm like, why can't our family just be normal?
22:01You hated everyone.
22:02We all hated each other at some point.
22:03Who's going?
22:04Your turn.
22:05Mum always said having the triplets was being punished and blessed in one fell swoop.
22:11How can I not forget?
22:12That...
22:13You still got that bit above your heart.
22:14Yeah, but no...
22:15I have a scar.
22:16It was you.
22:17You.
22:17It's always me.
22:18Always you.
22:19My name is Gillian.
22:20I am the eldest in my family.
22:22And my siblings are triplets.
22:24As a parent myself now, I can see how hard it would have been.
22:28Yeah.
22:28To wrangle all of us.
22:30Yeah.
22:31I remember clearly, like, mum said she was having a baby.
22:35I always felt like it was me and them.
22:38And I was the oldest sister of the triplets.
22:42It was a responsibility I probably didn't want to have, but I had to.
22:47So I didn't find out until, yeah, closer to when you were born that, yeah, it was not just one
22:52baby.
22:53It was three.
22:53I remember being shocked and excited because I actually wanted a brother or a sister.
22:57I didn't know if it was a boy or two girls either.
22:59Nothing.
23:00I felt resentment towards my siblings at times because I just wanted to have one sibling.
23:11I wanted to be like my friends.
23:13I wanted to be able to just go on a holiday normally with my family.
23:18To not have to go, right, we need to times everything by three.
23:22When you were born, the reality was I wasn't going to get attention anymore.
23:27And life was going to be very different.
23:30I declared that I would only ever want two children, no more.
23:34I never wanted to be outnumbered.
23:37But I learnt that my siblings are obviously meant to be here.
23:41And they are here for a reason and have taught me so much.
23:47Tom, you're the younger brother of identical triplet sisters.
23:51Have you ever resented their connection?
23:53I don't resent the fact that they're very close because I think it's really nice for them to have that.
24:01But my parents separated when I was 16 and it was a pretty difficult domestic environment to grow up in.
24:10And so I think that really what happened, I started to feel a bit kind of abandoned by them, I
24:18suppose,
24:19or kind of left alone to deal with the difficult situation at home.
24:23And so I suppose actually that's where at the time I felt quite resentful because I felt we had, you
24:29know,
24:29my dad was quite an erratic character, to say the least.
24:32And I felt like I was left alone to sort of deal with him and the situations that he created.
24:39Did you ever talk about your sisters with other people?
24:42As I grew up, that relationship sort of, it didn't really exist.
24:48So actually when people said, do you have family, do you have...
24:53I often found it at the time easier just to say no, because it was just too difficult to get
25:00into.
25:00Because I think as soon as you say you've got identical triplet sisters,
25:05there are no doubt a load of questions that follow that.
25:10And because I didn't feel connected to them,
25:13I didn't really feel like I wanted to answer those questions.
25:17So often I think I would just sort of, well, deny having sisters, you know,
25:22if it was at a party and people were sort of trying to get to know me.
25:26You're a writer and in 2014 you interviewed your sisters for an article.
25:31What was the story about?
25:33You know, I felt the loss of having these sisters that I kind of wanted a relationship with,
25:39but didn't really know how to have a relationship with them
25:43or how to get into that circle that they were in.
25:47And so I suppose it was really a way of kind of addressing that to some extent.
25:51But I think also I was really quite fascinated by their lives.
25:57And, you know, I mean, someone said earlier about them being able to swap over at school.
26:04So, you know, my sisters are called Emma, Kate and Victoria.
26:07So Emma hated maths.
26:09So she just stopped going and Kate would go in her place.
26:13And, you know, the teachers heard rumours that this was going on.
26:19And they told me later that the headteacher had said to Kate,
26:25I know what you're doing, Kate.
26:26You've been taking maths.
26:28But he was actually talking to Emma at the time.
26:30So they had it sort of sewn up.
26:33And, you know, the kind of stories that came up,
26:36I remember that they did everything together.
26:39And they even got their first kind of Saturday jobs together.
26:43And they worked in a restaurant.
26:46And Kate would come in and bring someone the food.
26:49And then she'd go back into the kitchen.
26:51And the customer would turn round and see Emma.
26:54And then he'd look over and Emma would disappear.
26:57And Victoria would be there.
26:58And he thought that this was an incredibly efficient waitress.
27:03So I was really interested in their lives and sort of wanted to be part of it.
27:08And I suppose that as a writer, that was a kind of way of bridging that gap.
27:16Alicia, you're an identical triplet.
27:18We sometimes hear that three's a crowd.
27:20What was your experience?
27:22I definitely experienced that.
27:25I was the third wheel.
27:26So I was left out a lot as a kid.
27:30I don't know if it was because I'm quite introverted and shy.
27:36And they're a little bit more extroverted.
27:38They tended to go off and leave me alone.
27:43What was your childhood like?
27:46Challenging for many reasons.
27:48Not only to do with being an identical triplet.
27:52The identical triplet part of it was the expectation of being the same and being a freak show whenever you
28:03went out anywhere.
28:03So everyone, as you can see, we were dressed the same, always had the same hairstyle, same shoes, same socks,
28:12same underwear.
28:13I'm not even kidding.
28:14We would go out in public and you would just see everybody turn and stare.
28:20You would get whispered, pointed at.
28:25There was gossip going around school about us all the time.
28:29One of my earliest memories is people, strangers, we'd be at the shop and strangers would just come up into
28:37our face and be like, oh my gosh, you all look the same.
28:41Are you twins?
28:42Did that constant attention affect you?
28:45Absolutely, 100%.
28:47I don't want to speak for my sisters, but for me, it reached a point when we were about 11
28:53or 12 where just wanting to be different, just felt that urge of, I don't want to look like them
29:00anymore.
29:00I don't want to be the same as them.
29:02And I started pushing a bit more to be a bit more of an individual.
29:08So, yeah, started dressing differently, doing my hair differently.
29:11Personally, I didn't wear makeup, my sisters did.
29:14I purposely chose not to wear makeup so that I wouldn't look like them.
29:19And it impacted our relationship as well because you didn't want to go out in public with them because you
29:25knew it was going to happen.
29:26You knew people would stare, come up to you, say stupid things and then, yeah.
29:33So we kind of started separating and not wanting to be together as much.
29:39What's your relationship like with your triplets now?
29:43It's close but complicated.
29:46So I love my sisters and I assume they love me.
29:51We talk quite regularly.
29:53We were texting today.
29:54We're seeing each other on the weekend.
29:56It's just comes back to that situation of when we catch up, we know what's going to happen.
30:04There's going to be at least one person who comes up and says, are you twins?
30:08And it just made life a bit complicated for us.
30:13And our family didn't really help in that situation either, I think.
30:20So, yeah, we're close but it's a complicated relationship.
30:24Alex, what was it like growing up as a triplet for you?
30:27So it was pretty good.
30:29I'm an identical twin and then Sam as well.
30:34You're not identical, clearly.
30:37Glad we clarified that one.
30:40But I think the key difference is it's quite funny because we're identical but I have cerebral palsy and my
30:48twin sister doesn't.
30:49And so sometimes people would get us mixed up for each other.
30:52And obviously I think I had a different experience growing up than she did because, like, she played sport and
30:59did all kinds of things.
31:01We grew up in a really small country town.
31:03So I feel like we were each other's friends.
31:07We were in each other's classes.
31:08Our year advisor in, like, high school would read our role as Hudson 1, 2, 3.
31:14Like, I think we had sort of sometimes separate friends but by and large we were together a lot.
31:21Sam, you're Alex's triplet brother.
31:23Tell us about your family.
31:25Growing up, my mum was a nurse, dad was a high school teacher.
31:29They had a three-year-old daughter, Rebecca, my older sister.
31:33They thought, oh, we'll have one more child and then, surprise, got three more.
31:37So we all came along.
31:40Life was pretty cool because you always had your two sidekicks growing up.
31:43So those early years was a dream, really.
31:47You know, it was pretty cool growing up with them.
31:49You were born four minutes apart.
31:51Yeah, four minutes apart.
31:52So the two girls first, gentlemen, ladies first.
31:57I had the quietest four minutes of my life killing in the womb while my womb buddies were out in
32:03the real world.
32:05I like to play that one a little bit.
32:08Yeah, it's a good one.
32:09That was good.
32:11Alex, are you similar to your identical twin, Kirsten?
32:15I feel like at our core we're the same.
32:19But because of, like, me growing up disabled and her not, I feel like it made us be more individual.
32:26And, like, very early on we were very different.
32:29Like, she was more of a kind of tomboy and I always wanted to wear dresses.
32:34So, but I, yeah, so I feel like we present ourselves differently but kind of in our core we're the
32:41same.
32:41We even repeat each other.
32:42Like, you know, when I talk on the phone to her it's like I'm talking to myself.
32:46Yeah, wow.
32:48You're a stand-up comedian.
32:50Here's you in action.
32:52So a little bit about me.
32:53I was born sandwiched between my brother and my sister.
32:58So each year on our birthday I call them and thank them for the brain damage.
33:04Yeah, you can laugh.
33:05Only one of them is here.
33:09Yeah, so that would make me a cripplet.
33:15You're welcome.
33:18Alex, you describe yourself in your show as a cripplet.
33:21Yeah.
33:21How does that go down?
33:23Um, I feel a bit scared.
33:25For me that speaks more to, like, my identity as being disabled.
33:29Because, like, a lot of people feel quite uncomfortable about it.
33:33And, like, us cripples, we love that stuff.
33:37Like, a lot of our life is kind of uncomfortable.
33:40So it's like if I can make non-decibeled people feel a little bit uncomfortable.
33:45But with that I was like what's the quickest way that I can describe how I grew up?
33:49And it's like cripple, triplet, done.
33:53Triplet.
33:54You and your twin sister, I think sometimes people would confuse you.
33:58Yeah.
33:59Have you ever used that to your advantage?
34:01Yeah.
34:01So when we were about three years old we went over to America to visit my dad's family.
34:07And there was a kid, he was, like, a family friend.
34:10He was a little bit younger than us.
34:12And he loved to push me over because I fell really easily.
34:16And then one time, like, he kept pushing me.
34:19And he didn't realise that my sister, he was pushing my sister.
34:22And so she pushed him back really hard.
34:26And he fell over.
34:27So that's always been good for me.
34:31Sam, do you remember that?
34:32Um, I do remember that one.
34:34We knew she was a bit different.
34:36But we always include her in a lot of stuff and growing up and adventures with the neighbourhood kids and
34:40all that.
34:40But as we got older, obviously, we wanted to get into sports and do all that as well.
34:45So it was always a bit hard that Alex couldn't participate.
34:48So I was usually Kirsten and myself.
34:50There was a little bit where she got to do, there was a great program called Riding for Disabled.
34:55So where if you're a disabled kid you got to go ride horses.
34:58So she got to thrive in that environment.
35:00And that was the first time we got to sit back and watch her.
35:03Which at the time I was probably like, it's unfair that I didn't get to ride a horse.
35:08But it was really cool that she could have that thing.
35:11And then we grew up where she was like our biggest cheerleader coming to sports.
35:15She had no real choice in the matter.
35:16But she got dragged along to like all the weekend soccer games and the volleyball and all that sort of
35:21stuff.
35:22What was that like, Alex, watching on as your siblings playing sport?
35:25So boring.
35:26I sometimes got annoyed because I felt like if it were me, I'd be like way more competitive.
35:32I'd be like, no, go harder.
35:34Because our twins, like she's way more reserved.
35:37So I'd sometimes watch her and be like, can you just try a bit harder?
35:41Yeah.
35:43Sam, you were born in Urana, New South Wales.
35:45A town just of a few hundred people.
35:48How did the community receive the arrival of triplets?
35:51Oh, I dare say it was front page news when it happened.
35:55Pretty much all your school and career, there was, oh, first day of primary school, here's the triplets, you know.
36:00So it was probably like a unique thing.
36:03And the community at that time really got involved.
36:06Mum being a nurse, Dad being a teacher.
36:08So they were, you know, solid parts of the community.
36:11So I think a lot of people helped out.
36:12Plus the novelty of triplets.
36:14Yeah.
36:15That was only until we were five and then we moved to another country town, much bigger of 4,000
36:19people.
36:22And in the little block we grew up, we had like the Baileys next door, the Trangmars, and there was
36:27about 10 kids all the same age.
36:29And so when the parents were all in their careers, all of us kids kind of got to hang out,
36:33adventure together.
36:35Yeah.
36:35You know, just all these like really cool things where we were little.
36:37So just being in a good little town with kids the same age, we all kind of were able to
36:43be raised together.
36:44Yeah.
36:45And then in that primary school, there was probably maybe 40 people in the year, but there was three sets
36:49of twins as well.
36:50So, you know, shout out to all the multiples out there.
36:53We're all cool.
36:54Triplets one up those twins though, which is cool.
36:58Well, I'm both, though.
37:00Yeah.
37:02Leone, you have five-year-old triplets.
37:05Did you receive much support when they were babies?
37:07Yeah, my mum lived around the corner.
37:10So she was a three-minute drive.
37:11So she spent a lot of time, still does, with us.
37:14And I also hired a nanny.
37:16So the day the girls came home, we had a nanny from day one.
37:20How does the nanny help you?
37:22So nanny would do bath time, put a load of washing on, put the clothes away, heat up the dinner,
37:29all the mundane things.
37:31Yeah, that was their first birthday.
37:34Could not get a good shot, but I love that photo.
37:37So the nanny would do all the stuff that would take time away from the kids, which meant that Pete
37:43and I could hang out with them, cuddle them, play with them, and not have to be slaving away cooking
37:48dinner.
37:49Triplet pregnancy is a high risk.
37:51How did you manage yours?
37:54It was the most difficult thing I've been through.
37:57It was very challenging.
38:00I actually had a seizure 32 plus six days.
38:05I was in the hospital due to have a caesarean the following day.
38:09I checked in at 5pm and I had a seizure at 9pm.
38:12They rushed us down to emergency delivery.
38:15So the girls were out within 20 minutes of me seizing.
38:18They all came out within a minute.
38:21It was probably just arms and legs, grab, grab.
38:23And then I ended up in a coma.
38:26Wow, you said that with such casualness.
38:29Yeah.
38:29But that's insane.
38:30I've done a lot of work around that.
38:32Yeah.
38:33So what was that seizure caused by, do you know?
38:36Eclampsia.
38:37Yeah.
38:38When did you first meet your girls?
38:39I was in a coma for about 16 hours and then it was on day two.
38:44So Pete tried really hard to get me to see the girls as quickly as possible.
38:48So it was in the afternoon, around lunchtime on day two.
38:52I had a lot of drugs in my system so I don't remember a lot of it.
38:56So thankfully we've got some videos and photos.
38:59So I was in the intensive care when I woke up.
39:01I had breathing apparatus on and I was being monitored by the cardiac team
39:05because my heart had actually enlarged during the whole process of having a seizure.
39:12And then you're also having to recover from a C-section.
39:15Yeah.
39:16Yeah.
39:16That took about six weeks.
39:18I was in hospital for two and the girls were in for five.
39:21Philomena, what was it like when you took your triplets home?
39:24It was very difficult for us because at that time I was new in Australia.
39:29I didn't have any family.
39:30So I remember when we got home it was just me and my husband and three children.
39:37And at that same time he actually had to go for work in the afternoon too.
39:43So it was really hard.
39:45But then at some point I got some church members and friends walking in here and there to support.
39:52But it was hard.
39:55When your children were 18 months old, your husband became ill, what happened?
40:02Yeah, so we were there.
40:07Life was already hard with just the two of us and the three kids.
40:14We were living in our two small bedroom apartments trying to money through.
40:22And then all of a sudden he fell sick.
40:24Just like a normal sickness, he got flu.
40:27That's what we all knew at that time.
40:30So we did not even take it serious.
40:32So just taking Panadol and other things.
40:37Then he started getting fever.
40:39So on one afternoon, like one morning, he woke up and went to see his GP because at the night
40:46he was getting a hot temperature.
40:49Yeah, so he went to see the GP, came back home like an hour later.
40:53And I was like, oh, you've come early.
40:55What was the problem?
40:56And he said, oh, it's okay.
40:58It's just flu.
40:59They gave me cough syrup and Norepine Plus to take.
41:03And that same afternoon, he just started to get more hot.
41:07So I have to call the ambulance.
41:09He went to the hospital and unfortunately he passed away the day after.
41:13The day after?
41:14Heart attack, yeah.
41:16I'm so sorry, Lamina.
41:18How did you manage with three babies on your own?
41:23That was more harder.
41:24When he was there, it was hard.
41:26Then when he went home, it was more harder.
41:31But yeah, forever grateful to my church members at that time who stood in because we didn't have anything, like
41:39nothing.
41:40So at the time he left.
41:41So the friends, church members supported us every single step until it got to a time that we could do
41:55things on our own.
41:57And thank God I've also met like a new partner who is also helping.
42:01So it's good.
42:03Things are better now, I would say.
42:05Things are good.
42:05Yeah.
42:07I got these earrings here two and a half years ago, maybe three years ago.
42:11And I was like, oh, no one's going to mix me up with my brothers.
42:14But, I mean, of course they go wrong.
42:18I've tried to get earrings, but he won't let me.
42:24Alex and Sam, you all live in different places, including your other triplet, Kirsten, who's in the US.
42:30Sam, do you miss the old days together?
42:33Yeah, of course.
42:34The childhood three amigos.
42:35Yes, absolutely.
42:37Yeah.
42:38Alex, would you like to live closer to your siblings?
42:41Yes.
42:42But also I'm like happy because Kay, Kirsten, she's found her life in America and found the things that make
42:49her happy.
42:49So, like, the part of me that would wish we all lived together is, like, less than the part of
42:57me that's like, oh, well, we've each found our place.
43:00So that's cool.
43:01And we visit a lot.
43:03Your sister, Kirsten, didn't want to miss out.
43:05So she sent you both this message.
43:14Alex, do you remember the time when we were 17 and I was driving as you, with you, and got
43:19pulled over for an RBT?
43:22Sorry, mum and dad.
43:25Alex, do you remember that?
43:26Maybe.
43:29Plead the fifth.
43:31Fair enough.
43:33What's it like seeing her there?
43:34Oh, cool.
43:37And, like, this day and age, you know, technology is so good.
43:40So, you know, siblings around the world.
43:42We have, like, a triplet group chat, but also, like, a family group chat.
43:45So it's like we're across each other's stuff a lot.
43:50Sometimes we let our older sister in, but sometimes not as well, you know.
43:54She's not, she hasn't broken the triangle sometimes a little bit.
43:58Maybe we'll let her in a bit more now.
44:00So I feel like that.
44:04Christine and Jackie, your identical triplet, Kelly, lives in another state from you both.
44:09Has that distance affected your bond?
44:12I don't think so.
44:13It just means there's one of us down here, not two.
44:16When she comes down to visit, it makes it very interesting because people go, oh, I saw you running.
44:23I didn't know you were a runner, and I'm like, yeah, no, that's my sister.
44:27She's down from the territory.
44:29So you don't get as much of the triplet association until you're all in the one place.
44:34Christine, does it mean that you're closer with one triplet than the other?
44:37No.
44:38I mean, your whole life, it changes and varies around anyway with which one you're closer to at the time.
44:45So it doesn't change it.
44:49Alicia, you're an identical triplet.
44:50You said you resented being seen as one unit when you were growing up.
44:54Did that change?
44:55No, I still resent it.
44:57I still dislike being referred to as a collective noun, the triplets.
45:03Hate that.
45:04My sisters hate it as well.
45:05It took me a very long time to develop a sense of who I am when I'm not the triplets.
45:14I was well into my 20s before I figured out who I was when I wasn't these other three people
45:23as one.
45:24And, you know, for instance, we had many times as children where we would have a friend come up to
45:33us and say,
45:33my mum said, I'm allowed to invite 10 people to my birthday party and I'm inviting all three of you
45:38because you only count as one.
45:40Wow.
45:41Yeah.
45:41And we would get one birthday present or one Christmas present.
45:46And because our birthday is in January, sometimes we would get one present for Christmas and birthday.
45:54So, yes, resented it then, resent it still.
45:58Tom, you grew up feeling like an only child despite having triplet sisters.
46:02You didn't see them much as adults, but you have since reconnected.
46:06Why?
46:08As I got older and had my own family and had my own son, it kind of caused me to
46:15reflect on it in a different way,
46:17seeing my son grow up and understanding his perspective as a child.
46:23And we'd actually grown up with a very violent dad.
46:28And so we'd been in and out of refuges.
46:30And when you're a kid, you just get that is what life is.
46:35So what I was able to do, I think, is kind of think about it in a different way.
46:40And I kind of understood more that they had kind of clung to each other because they gave each other
46:48comfort and they had each other.
46:50You know, and I, my father was a real misogynist and was, you know, very violent towards my mother in
46:58front of us all.
46:59But he was also very cruel to my sisters, too.
47:03And actually, he kind of gave me a lot more affection, although he was still a kind of monster in
47:10many ways.
47:11And so I think they kind of looked at that and saw the love that he gave me.
47:17And even though it was a kind of contorted love, and that's all really a child wants to be loved
47:23by their parents.
47:25You went on to write a book about your childhood.
47:27How did your sisters respond to that?
47:30So when I had that kind of revelation, really, I hadn't spoken to my sisters for a very long time.
47:37And I had to go to them and say, well, I've written a book about everything that happened to us.
47:43I went to see them to say that.
47:45I hadn't seen them for a few years.
47:47And actually, the book really kind of helped them as much as it helped me, I think, in a way.
47:54Because they were really able to sort of understand their own lives through it.
47:59And I think we both really understood each other's position.
48:02And so they didn't, I think they thought that I had kind of sided with my dad.
48:06And actually, you know, it was a lot more complicated, my relationship with him.
48:10And when they understood that, it really kind of, well, we understood each other in a very different way.
48:18Oscar, do you ever wonder what it would be like growing up without identical brothers?
48:23Yeah, I do.
48:24I sometimes think about it.
48:26And I guess because I'm 100% of myself around those two.
48:31Like, I mean, obviously, we have really close friends.
48:34And friends where I feel really at home.
48:37But with France and Condit, I feel like myself.
48:40And I just imagine, like, if I didn't have those people there to kind of hook friends.
48:47Because I get to experience everything together.
48:48Like, if something's like, oh, what's this?
48:51I can, I have these two to fall back on.
48:54And like, as a shield sometimes.
48:56So I sometimes think about what life would be like going through life without having two people to experience it
49:03with.
49:03Who, yeah.
49:05Conrad, do you think you might ever grow apart?
49:08I hope not.
49:09Because we're hoping to stay in the band for our careers.
49:16And so we'll always get to see each other, hopefully.
49:19I guess really only if they're really controlling girlfriends.
49:24I'm also worried that, I'm scared that we might forget to see each other.
49:29Because we have to make no effort, we make no effort to see each other now.
49:33Because we live with each other.
49:34And, I mean, frankly, by the end of living with each other, we get fed up with each other a
49:39lot.
49:40But I'm wondering when we move away from each other, like, would I just message you guys and be like,
49:46I want to hang out?
49:48That's weird.
49:50Francis, what is your most distinguishing feature, would you say?
49:54Oh, so we've always had this problem.
49:57I mean, there's identical triplets in the room where we look the same.
50:01And we're always trying to differ from each other.
50:03And I got these earrings here probably two and a half years ago, maybe three years ago.
50:10And I was like, oh, no one's going to mix me up with my brothers.
50:13But, I mean, of course they go wrong.
50:18So, I was always dressing in different clothes as well.
50:22So, I would go, we'd all go up shopping, but I was always first on the racks looking at all
50:26the clothes.
50:27And I felt like I found my style first.
50:31At first, I was what distinguished me from the brothers.
50:34In my eyes, I'm sure no one else saw it.
50:36But we all have developed with what we wear and how we present ourselves.
50:41I was like, I also got, like, a taper at the back and the sides.
50:49And, of course, the brothers saw, oh, as they saw a real-life model of a haircut, they could get.
50:55That looks great.
50:56So, they did that as well.
50:59Oscar now has a mullet and Conor still has a taper.
51:02Conor looks a bit like a mullet.
51:03But if I ever wanted earrings, I don't think it would ever let me.
51:06I've not let the brothers get earrings.
51:07I've tried to get earrings, but he won't let me.
51:11He claimed it first.
51:14Christine, Jackie and Kelly, in a sense, you weren't raised to be individual.
51:19How do you reflect on that now?
51:23We're glad that at a certain age mum decided she wanted us to be ourselves because it really
51:31did help as you got older because those childhood years up until we were probably, what, eight
51:36years old?
51:37Yeah.
51:38A bit older.
51:39Yeah.
51:39Whilst you don't know any different, it really did make your life different.
51:44You didn't feel like yourself.
51:46You look back and it is really fun to play games with people that when they first find
51:53out you're triplets or to show your kids and as you grow up to try to guess who is who.
52:00We all look the same.
52:01Sometimes we say, are you sure you didn't mix us up?
52:04Yeah, mix us up.
52:05And maybe I'm actually Kelly or Jackie.
52:09Like she probably would have every photo she took when we were little.
52:12And back then you had to send them away to get developed.
52:14She must have had to write down in every photo who was sitting where.
52:18Thank you so much.
52:20That's all we have time for.
52:21Thank you for your company.
52:23But before we go, Jackie, Kelly and Christine, tomorrow is your birthday.
52:26So we have a surprise for each of you.
52:30Happy birthday.
52:30Happy birthday.
52:33And they're all different.
52:35I know.
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