Cole Sprouse reacts after twin Dylan claims they're 'children of incest'

Article content

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source

Cole Sprouse wasn’t ready to hear what his twin brother had uncovered about their family history — and he certainly wasn’t interested in reading about it in the headlines.

The 34-year-old Riverdale star addressed Dylan Sprouse’s family revelation Tuesday, reacting to media coverage claiming the brothers were “the children of incest.”

“No media training on earth can prep you to read this clickbait headline at 10am,” Cole wrote on his Instagram Story, sharing a screenshot of the coverage.

Dylan, meanwhile, had revealed the bizarre discovery during an appearance on the Wildmen podcast, explaining how genealogy website Ancestry helped him piece together their family tree.

‘I started to get suspicious’

He said his understanding of his ancestry changed after taking the test and connecting with relatives he had never met, particularly on their father’s side of the family.

As he compared family histories, Dylan began noticing some unusual patterns.

“I started to get suspicious,” he said, after learning that his father’s uncles were identical twins.

The family apparently had seven sets of twins across four generations — something Dylan initially thought could be explained by his mother’s side.

Reason why there are 7 sets of twins in Sprouse family tree

But his research suggested there was more to the story.

“I’d only ever thought that identical twins or twins in general came from my mom’s side of the family,” he said. “And the reason we have a lot of twins is because it’s the same family!”

According to Dylan, the family branches first came together through marriage during California’s Gold Rush in the 1800s. They later separated before coming together again through his parents, Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright.

The discovery left him stunned.

“It’s my dad and my mom. They had no idea. So, then I’m looking at this, and I go, ‘What the hell?’” he recalled.

‘Cole and I are children of incest’

Dylan also shared an unusual family anecdote involving an aunt who was a twin. He said she was one of those twins who absorbed her sibling in the womb, and that a cyst removed from her shoulder contained teeth and hair.

“Long story short, Cole and I are children of incest,” Dylan said.

He also described calling his brother to share the news — a conversation that apparently didn’t go well.

“I called Cole. I was like, ‘Dude, I just found out some f—ing crazy s—,’” Dylan recalled.

After sending Cole a picture, his brother reportedly replied, “Not looking at that,” before closing it and hanging up.

Family history has had its share of complications

The twins’ parents divorced when the boys were two, according to Page Six. Their mother got them into acting, but the outlet reported that their father was later granted sole custody after she used most of their early earnings for herself. The brothers subsequently cut her out of their lives.

Dylan and Cole rose to fame as children in the 1999 comedy Big Daddy, later starring together in Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spin-off.

Dylan’s life has since moved into a new chapter. He married model and actress Barbara Palvin in 2023, and the couple recently welcomed their first child, daughter Sylvie, according to Entertainment Weekly.