At-home DNA testing kits have become popular over the past years. These DNA tests do not only help you see what ethnicities you have in your genes but they can also help you trace people related to you.
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But are these DNA ancestry tests really reliable? A TV show and a journalist collaborated to test its credibility when they asked identical triplets to take it and the results were shocking and totally unexpected.
The beautiful triplets
The Dahm triplets were born on December 12, 1977. First came Nicole, then Erica, and lastly, Jaclyn. From the moment they entered the world, they have struck people with not just their striking beauty but also by how much they looked alike.
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Indeed, seeing the triplets were a treat. A lot of people have told them that they were the most beautiful identical triplets they have ever seen. The triplets looked so alike and they were inseparable that even their parents could not tell them apart.
Inseparable sisters
In fact, their parents had to mark special dot tattoos on the bottoms of the Dahm triplets to help differentiate the three. Nicole had one dot since she was the first, Erica has two dots as the middle triplet, and Jaclyn did not have any.
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The triplets did everything together. They shared everything from clothes, toys, and friends. It was challenging for friends and family to spot who is who. As a result, they were rarely recognized as individuals. They were always known as “the triplets” or “you three.”
Popular beauties
The Dahm triplets got a lot of attention growing up in a small town in Jordan, Minnesota. Triplets were rare – especially identical triplets. The sisters stood out. Everyone knew them and as they grew up to be more beautiful.
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Everyone could see how beautiful the triplets were and they became very popular. When the Dahm triplets were 16 years old, they already graced the cover of ‘Teen magazine for winning the Great Model Search.
Choosing a different path
Despite a promising career in modeling, the triplets decided to enroll in the University of Minnesota’s nursing school when they graduated from high school. While on campus, they saw a flier ad from a magazine looking for “Girls of the Big Ten special edition.”
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The triplets decided to join. They had no idea that this could change their lives. Once the casting agents met with the Dahm sisters, everything started to move fast for The triplets. Nicole, Erica, and Jaclyn immediately did a test shoot. But there was a catch.
A big decision
This gig was for a magazine’s monthly centerfold that would ask them to disrobe and bare it all for public consumption. It was a big decision to make. As individuals, they probably would not consider this kind of shoot but doing it together made them more confident.
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And when the issue came out, there was no room for regrets since it opened up a lot of doors for the triplets. They made history as the first triplets to ever grace Playboy’s monthly centerfold. It launched them to stardom.
Rise to stardom
The triplets decided to drop out of nursing school and move to Los Angeles to pursue the opportunities waiting for them there. The Dahm triplets had numerous modeling gigs once they settled down in Los Angeles.
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They even got opportunities to be on TV. In the TV show Boy Meets World, you can find the triplets in the episode entitled “The Honeymoon is Over” where they played triplets that live in the dorm room across the room from Eric and Jack.
TV regulars
The triplets also had the chance to play in Family Feud along with their father and their older sister, Lisa, and they got to win $10,000 during their time there. The Dahm triplets were a constant in reality TV shows.
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In one of their gigs, the triplets won an episode of House Wars. After that win, they were hired to do the Fox reality show, Renovate My Family. The TV show was hosted by Dr. Phil’s son, Jay McGraw.
A fortunate love
Their time on Renovate My Family was life-changing for the middle triplet, Erica. This is because Jay took an interest in her while doing the show. The two started a relationship and eventually got married in 2006.
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By that time, Jay was one of the executive producers on The Doctors, a show featuring a panel of doctors that discusses different medical issues on TV. Celebrities would often guest and be featured on the show to share their experience or give opinions.
Regular guests
Jay had the idea to feature the triplets on The Doctors. After all, identical triplets were very rare. In their first appearance, there were a lot of questions about their health and life as triplets. It turned out that the audience loved the Dahm triplets.
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The Dahm triplets soon made regular appearances on the show. They were able to give interesting insights into the discussions and they helped the ratings go up. This was especially true at the time when the triplets got pregnant at the same time.
Life as triplets
Everyone was intrigued about how they were carrying babies during the same period – it seemed like the three were destined to do everything together. Jaclyn, the youngest triplet said “It must be the triplet bond. It’s weird how fortunate we’ve all been.”
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And just as the triplets were pregnant in the same year, they also gave birth in the same year. Nicole, Erica, and Jaclyn gave birth to beautiful baby girls. The girls then took a step away from the spotlight to focus on their babies.
An interesting experiment
In 2017, Jay and the producers of The Doctors called them again – 7 years after the Dahm triplets have settled into motherhood. They had an interesting proposition for them to participate in an episode of the show again.
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The Doctors teamed up with journalist Lisa Guererro from Inside Edition to investigate the reliability of home DNA ancestry tests, which were gaining popularity at the time. They wanted the triplets to take a DNA ancestry test.
The DNA test trend
At-home DNA ancestry tests have become popular as people wanted to know about their DNA and where they really come from. Websites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe are one of the most popular sources of these at-home DNA tests.
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These genetic tests promise to tell you what ethnicities you have. These websites can even help you track down your long-lost relatives if they have their results in their database – a very helpful thing for those who are adopted.
More accessible testing
Before, getting a DNA test is complicated and expensive. Now, you can get these at-home DNA test kits at an affordable and reasonable price. All you have to do is order a kit from the website and it will be delivered to you.
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Follow the instructions on how to get your saliva sample, then send the kit back to the company. Once the company receives your saliva sample, they will analyze it against a lot of genetic markers. The results will take a couple of weeks.
Doing the experiment
Theoretically, the Dahm triplets are expected to have almost identical DNA results. After all, their relationship with each other is undeniable. Testing these DNA kits on the triplets is a perfect way to test their validity.
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The Dahm triplets were happy to do the experiment. It reminded them of the time they wanted to be nurses in the past. They were fascinated by genetic testing. So they took the saliva test from 23andMe. The results would be revealed in a live episode of The Doctors.
The test results
But when the results came in, it shocked not only the show and its viewers. Even the Dahm triplets were taken aback. They never thought there would be something strange about their DNA. The 23andMe genetic test confirmed the fact that Nicole, Erica, and Jaclyn were identical triplets.
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The genetic test showed that 99% of their DNA came from European descent. But a more detailed breakdown of the DNA report showed the triplets had very different results. For instance, Nicole was 18% Irish and British while Erica was 16% Irish and British.
The discrepancies
This proved to be confusing not only to the triplets but also to everyone watching the show. When they checked the French and German ancestry of the Dahm triplets, they also found another discrepancy. Nicole has 11%, Jaclyn has 18%, and Erica has 22.3% French and German ancestry.
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Their Scandinavian ancestry also had different results. Nicole was 11.4% Scandinavian while Erica and Jaclyn were 7.4% Scandinavian. It was very confusing. Why were their results so different? Does this mean that these at-home DNA testing kits are not reliable at all?
The verdict
During the live episode of The Doctors, the triplets were clearly shocked by the results that were revealed to them on the big screen. “I’m surprised because we came from the same egg and we have the same DNA,” Nicole said.
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Dr. Travis Stork, the host of The Doctors, chimed in and said that maybe the saliva tests are still not advanced enough to be a hundred percent accurate. As he puts it, although there is a remarkable improvement in DNA testing, you still can’t expect to have all the answers by spitting in a cup.
Understanding the trend
Although Inside Edition journalist Lisa had her doubts about the reliability of these DNA tests, she still admitted she would try to use these tests in the future. Although it’s not a hundred percent accurate, the tests do give interesting insights into your ancestry.
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“It’s piqued my curiosity. I know I’m Latina on my mom’s side and English on my dad’s side, but I wanna know how much.” Dr. Travis and Lisa acknowledged why these DNA tests are so popular. After all, we do want to know where we came from and what we are made of.
What the triplets are up to
The Dahm triplets never expected to be surprised by their DNA test. They had expected everything to be the same. They also never thought they would one day be able to spread some awareness about DNA testing. These three women obviously have come a long way from their modeling days.
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These days, you can catch the Dahm triplets on their YouTube channel, TripletsGourmet. It turns out that the triplets have a talent for cooking, and they decided to start their own channel to showcase their special recipes.