SISTER: alex (29)

SISTER: Jessica (37)

Home Location: Jessica - Ortonville, MI Alex - Waterford, MI

Alex and Jessica are night and day. Quite literally. Jessica is sunshine and rainbows personified. Alex has a dark, gothic exterior with a stoic, quiet disposition that makes others uncomfortable. Think Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice. Several years ago, these sisters were an internet, viral sensation for a photo that they posted that accurately captured their polar opposite dynamic: Alex is all smiles with flowing, rainbow-colored hair, where Alex is stern faced, with glasses and dark hair. The meme made them internet famous, but they humbly respond with, “we were just being ourselves!”

Alex and Jessica share a mother but have two different fathers. They were raised together for most of their lives, however there is an age disparity of eight years between the two. Although they were raised by the same mom they turned out very differently. Their shared mother actually had a female partner who was Alex’s other mother who helped raise Alex until she was about six years old. However, the two moms had a very toxic relationship and Alex’s biological mother’s partner became too much and the family had to distance themselves from her. Alex hasn’t seen or spoken to her in over a decade, but is still close to her biological mother.

Jessica’s rainbow personality translates to all aspects of her life and personality. She’s always positive, chipper and optimistic. She’s extroverted, kind and bubbly. Alex is reserved, less enthusiastic to make new friends, guarded around people she doesn’t know. Jessica is a Yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner and henna artist. Alex is a professional FX makeup artist and fine artist specializing in gothic and macabre art. She will take walks in the woods to collect animal bones and convert them into eerie oddities and sculptures. Jessica in turn, loves nothing more than to garden in her rainbow-colored backyard and make her own deodorant from scratch. Jessica is a true-crime enthusiast and even kept a correspondence with known serial killers. Their differences couldn’t be more opposite and at odds with one another.

Fundamentally the sisters do not see eye-to-eye on when it comes to religion. Jessica believes in God, a higher power and a divine being. Jessica helps to manage a women’s shelter and is active in the recovery community. Her faith is a big part of her work. She is a Christian and believes in Jesus Christ and God. She prays often and is a very spiritual person who relies on her faith to carry her through life. It’s a major part of who she is, how she navigates the world and how she manages and copes with adversity. Alex on the other hand is agnostic/atheist. She doesn’t believe in a higher power nor the existence of a divine or spiritual plane.

Both sisters admit that they have a complicated and nuanced relationship with their shared mother. They both struggle to find their footing with mom. Jessica had a major falling out several years ago due to an issue with alcohol abuse. She has since been clean and sober, but repairing her relationship with mom has been rocky and difficult. Beyond the falling out, there’s major generational gaps between mom and the opposite sisters. Mom doesn’t understand how and why Jessica raises her children the way she does. Jessica takes a very granola, touchy/feely approach to parenting, whereas mom comes from a conservative and old school view that children should be seen and not heard--and if they act up they should be beaten with a stick.

Alex and Jessica's grandmother isn't doing well health-wise. The family just had an emergency with grandma and had to rush her to the hospital. They aren't sure exactly what the matter is, but she is currently in a physical rehab facility. With grandma's health on the line, it's bringing the sisters and the whole family closer. Jessica and Alex are both very close with their grandmother, and are putting their life on pause to make sure that she is doing okay. They are both invested in her health and her well-being, which brings them together as they, as a family, are there during the ups and downs of her health scare.

The sisters also differ as it relates to their hometown of Ortonville population 1,200. Jessica thrived in high school whereas Alex was miserable and an outcast. Jessica was popular and made friends easily and Alex was a loner who was ostracized and never felt at home. Jessica lives in the same small town of Ortonville next to their mom, that means if Alex wants to visit her family she has to go back to ground zero. She doesn’t like the town…and even worse? Running into someone she knew from high school! She’ll actively avoid anyone she might have known from her past.

Both of the opposite sisters are looking to get engaged in the next year. Alex has been with her boyfriend for a number of years and she knows that he has a ring and is ready to propose. Alex absolutely does NOT want a traditional, white-dress wedding. She wants gothic colors and a dark, Victorian aesthetic. She loves the idea of a Hobbit wedding. Nothing about her wedding should be traditional. Naturally, she wants her sister to be involved and to help plan the wedding. But what happens when you ask Rainbow Brite to plan a Beetlejuice wedding?

Jessica has been married once before but then divorced… but she is now back with her former ex-husband. Yes, she’s had a very tumultuous relationship the past several years! The two are doing much better and they want to plan their own recommitment ceremony/wedding with each other. For Jessica, that ceremony will not be a traditional wedding either: It’s long, flowing pastel dresses, in a circle, in the forest, with close friends and family, sans shoes, talking about their feelings. This couldn’t be further from Alex’s idea of a good time. Although these opposite sisters are planning opposite weddings, they both agreed to be there and help to plan one another’s big day. Will opposites attract or will there be a major culture clash?