Inside Tia Mowry and twin sister Tamera’s forever bond

Originally appeared on E! Online

Twins share a unique bond. They’re each other’s other half. They have their own way of communicating that can leave outsiders wondering what they’re talking about. And oftentimes they don’t even have to talk!

Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry-Housley can tell you all about it.

“The only thing we can’t do is feel each other’s pain. If I pinch myself…” Tamera said, giving her wrist a slight pinch, on “Larry King Now” in 2014. “But I know what she’s thinking right now,” interjected Tia, who’s two minutes younger. “She can’t hide anything from me and vice versa.”

They proceeded to spend half the interview answering in unison and finishing each other’s sentences. As usual.

So when Tia remarked 10 years later — as captured in a trailer for the docuseries “Tia Mowry: My Next Act” — that she wished she and Tamera “were still close” so she could pick up the phone and call her “but that’s just not where we’re at right now,” alarms went off.

As in, wait, why would she be wishing they were close? What happened?!

Celebrity Twins

A source told E! News that Tia, who lives in Los Angeles while Tamera resides about 400 miles north in Napa, California, just meant there was literal distance between them.

“The sisters are close,” the source said, “but the quote being referenced was about their physical location.”

Which is a relief, considering the world watched the Mowrys navigate adolescence on their hit 1990s sitcom “Sister, Sister,” and they seemed to still be each other’s biggest fan well into adulthood.

“I am proud of her for living in her truth and not being afraid to do so,” Tamera told E! News in 2022 after Tia filed for divorce from her husband of 14 years, Cory Hardrict, calling her slightly younger sis a “strong, strong woman.”

Each a mother of two and no longer sharing a zip code, let alone a bedroom, life has of course gotten in the way of constant togetherness, but the bond they’ve had since day one isn’t the kind that geography can mess with.

Many a former child or teen star could say the same about whatever project won them fame at a young age. But not all of them can say that their transition from childhood — especially if they were stars of a hit prime-time show — to adulthood went as smoothly as the Mowry twins can.

They’ve had their personal trials and tribulations, but they somehow managed to avoid the sort of highly public scandals that have plagued actors who grew up in the spotlight and weren’t quite sure what to do when it dimmed.

For starters, Tia and Tamera had each other, which basically means that they were never, psychologically speaking, alone. They had a tight family unit with mom Darlene and dad Timothy, high school sweethearts who joined the Army together and raised their four children in a religious household — wherever the house was at any given time.

Tia and Tamera were born in Germany and, due to their parents’ military careers, the family lived in Hawaii and Texas twice before relocating to L.A. so the kids could pursue their dream. And the twins also remain close with their younger brothers Tahj and Tavior.

Tia and Tamera have been in the public consciousness as a charming unit for 30 years, ever since they vaulted into sitcom stardom with Sister, Sister, playing twins who were separated at birth and then adopted — “Tia Landry” by single mom Lisa (Jackée Harry) and “Tamera Campbell” by two parents (though when the show starts she’s being raised by her widowed dad Ray, played by Tim Reid).

Tia Mowry has given a rare glimpse at what her dating life is like right now.

The twins, who have cited “Star Search” (and their failure to make it on the show as a dance act) as their motivation to entertain, moved from Texas (where they were competing in pageants and doing catalog modeling) to L.A. with their parents and younger brother Tahj Mowry, who at barely 5 years old landed a recurring role as Michelle Tanner’s pal Teddy on “Full House.”

About two years after their first commercial, a Chrysler ad that featured the girls jumping rope double Dutch, they were discovered by producer Irene Dreayer.

They were 15 when “Sister, Sister” premiered on ABC, to be picked up by the WB a year later. It was on the air for six seasons, making the twins 21 when the series ended.

“We basically grew up on that show,” Tia said.