Thirty years after first meeting as teenagers and becoming close friends, Meena Geltink and Minal Tijssen discovered they were actually biological sisters through a DNA test.
The two met in 1996 at a gathering for adopted children in the Netherlands and quickly formed an unusually strong bond. Friends even pointed out how much they resembled each other, but neither knew they were sisters.
Both were born in India and adopted as infants by separate Dutch families whose homes were only about 100 miles apart. Growing up, neither woman knew a biological sister was living relatively close by.
As teenagers, Meena and Minal exchanged addresses and jokingly referred to each other as “sis” in their letters. They eventually lost touch for about 15 years.
Years later, both independently took DNA tests while searching for their biological families. In April 2026, Minal was at home when her MyHeritage results identified Meena as her sister.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Minal Tijssen said after seeing the result. At first, she did not realize that the sister identified by the test was the same friend she had met decades earlier.
Minal later found Meena on social media and recognized her from old memories and photos. The MyHeritage test showed a rare 100% sibling match, prompting the two to reconnect and spend hours talking and messaging each day.
Both women were raised by loving adoptive families but continued to have questions about their biological roots. Minal had no records identifying her birth relatives, while Meena said she had long felt that something was missing.
On Aug. 11, the sisters finally reunited in the Netherlands after confirming they shared the same biological family. Their first meeting as sisters was filled with hugs, tears, laughter and their first selfie together.
“When I see you, it’s like I’m home,” Meena told Minal during their reunion.
After three decades, the friendship that had always felt strangely familiar finally had an explanation.
