Say hello to identical triplets Erica, Jaclyn, and Nicole Dahm. Having multiples is rare enough, but having identical multiples is exceptionally unusual. Identical triplets only occur about 20 to 30 times per 1 million people born. These three girls are blessed with a loving family and unbelievable good looks. As they got older, they would have successful careers and their own families. It would be safe to assume that they were alike in every way, but they would soon find out that that wasn’t exactly the truth.
Before the identical triplets were able to develop their own qualities and personalities, it was virtually impossible to tell them apart. Because of that, their parents needed to get creative…with tattoos! In order to tell them apart, the parents put a little dot on each of the girls’ bottoms. The first one born, Nicole, received one dot on her bottom. Erica got two dots for being the second born, and Jaclyn, the last one born, remains dotless.
While growing up, the girls were best friends and rarely spent time away from each other. Some multiples can’t stand dressing alike, but not these triplets. “We rarely hold our own identity. We were always known as ‘You three’ or ‘The Triplets’,” Nicole said in an interview. Some people might think that that’s annoying, but the triplets enjoyed being so close to one another. And they liked being seen as a group.
As soon as the girls became teens, it was more than obvious that they were beautiful and stood apart from the crowd. Even though they lived in a pretty small town, it didn’t take long for them to be discovered. When they were 16 years old, the triplets entered a “Teen Magazine” contest called The Great Model Search. Even though there was plenty of tough competition, the girls won hands down. They were featured in their very own cover shoot. Looking back, they probably didn’t know that their careers were barely beginning.
But because modeling work tends to be unsteady, the girls decided that they needed a backup plan. So all three of them chose to go to the University of Minnesota. They majored in nursing so they could all work together helping other people. But once they got to campus and saw a flier looking for adult models, their plans changed once again. Even though they weren’t sure if they wanted to be models, they decided to check it out anyways.
The triplets didn’t make a decision right off. They knew what the job was about and they knew it wasn’t exactly family-friendly. They would be required to show it all and they weren’t sure how others would feel about it. But with the support of their parents, Nicole, Jaclyn, and Erica went through with it. They met up with the casting agent who was captivated by their stunning looks, and requested that all three of them did a test shoot. They didn’t realize that their lives were about to drastically change.
The girls understood that taking this risk would push nursing to the back burner, which could cause them to be criticized. Not only did they have their parents’ blessing, they also had each other. “We would never have done this as individuals,” said Jaclyn. The girls appeared in an adult magazine as centerfolds, and they were seeking other opportunities in the entertainment industry so their nursing careers were pushed to the side.
In order to find more opportunities, the triplets packed up all of their belongings and moved to L.A. It wasn’t an easy move for them, but it wasn’t long before they were appearing in TV shows, like “Boy Meets World.” They were also on an episode of “Family Feud” with their father and older sister where they won $10,000! They won an episode of “House Wars,” as well, and even got hired by the show “Renovate My Family.” Which is where they met the person that change their lives forever.
The second born, Erica, met Dr. Phil’s son, Jay McGraw, who was the host of “Renovate My Family.” The two hit it off immediately and even said it was love at first sight. The two were married in 2006 – which actually led to the unbelievable DNA results. But how can that be? Try to keep up. Jay and his father, Phil McGraw, are producers on the TV show “The Doctors,” a show that has different doctors talk about different health topics and issues.
Jay came up with the idea of featuring the girls on the show, and have them discuss different women’s health issues from the triplet’s perspective. It’s definitely a good idea, considering you don’t hear about it too often. Their first appearance was a huge success, so the triplets began making regular appearances on the TV show. The triplets loved their lives, but nothing could have predicted what would eventually happen on the set of “The Doctors.”
First off, there were more babies! As crazy as it sounds, all three of them ended up falling in love, getting married, and getting pregnant all around the same time! It’s unbelievable, but there was only one month between them all! And if that didn’t blow your mind, all three of the women gave birth to daughters, and that in itself is actually a statistical anomaly. It was then that the triplets decided to step out of the limelight to focus on their families, but they would be back on the screen soon enough.
After each girl had another child – all boys – Jay and Dr. Phil thought of another idea for “The Doctors.” Since the popularity of using DNA tests to map people’s ancestry is on the rise, they figured it would be interesting to test out their reliability. The triplets would be the perfect test subject because their genetic makeup would be pretty much identical, right?
The triplets provided a sample of their saliva in order to complete the DNA test. Some people think that it’s a lot of saliva to provide the company, but other people believe it’s just to make sure that the company is able to get the most accurate reading possible. But unlike most people, who read their results at home, the triplets were going to hear theirs on the air during an episode of “The Doctors.” After all, everything they found out would be the same, wouldn’t it?
After a few weeks, the DNA tests came back and they showed that the triplets were identical – what a shock. Nicole and Erica have almost the same exact fingerprints, which is extremely rare. But the seconds test that they took showed that the triplets had different roots. The results showed that they were 99% European. But more detailed results showed them that Erica was 16% British and Irish, but Nicole got 2% more Irish and British roots. Nicole had 11% French and German roots, Jaclyn had 18% and Erica had 22.3%. But there was more…
Once they got to the Scandinavian roots it got even more confusing. Erica and Jaclyn had 7.4%, and Nicole was 11.4% Scandinavian. Considering that they came from the same egg, everyone was in shock. One of the hosts, Dr. Travis Stork, shared his own doubt of the results. “I think the answer here is that we’ve come so far in terms of genetic testing, but you can’t just spit in a cup and have every single answer that you are looking for,” he said. The girls took the tests with a grain of salt and are taking care of their families now. They have definitely come an extremely long way from their start in small town, America!