Dylan Sprouse Reveals the Family-Tree Discovery That Stunned Twin Cole

Updated 20:27 20 Oct 2026 GMT+1Published 20:24 20 Oct 2026 GMT+1

Dylan says seven sets of twins in four generations led him to suspect his parents were related

Dylan Sprouse has said his family tree includes seven sets of twins across four generations, and he believes he has worked out why.

The former Disney Channel child actor, who starred alongside his twin brother Cole in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, claims the pair are ‘children of incest.’

He made the comments on the latest episode of the Wildmen podcast, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Dylan and Cole, both 34, came to that conclusion after Dylan used the genealogy service Ancestry, which uses DNA testing to map out a family tree.

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

Dylan Sprouse and his twin brother Cole, both 34, starred in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)

The discovery unfolded in stages. “When I first took it, my actual breakdown of history was very different than it is now,” Dylan said of the service. The process also put him in touch with relatives he had never met.

“I’ve found a lot of family members, weirdly, who I never met, because my dad’s side of the family is pretty fractured,” he said.

Dylan said he also ‘found out something weird’ about both sides of his family heading to California during the Gold Rush.

One set of relatives discovered gold and then moved the rest of the family from North Carolina to California, he explained, and both sides were living in the area before being joined by marriage in the late 1800s.

“And then, they diverged, and then they married again [through] my mom and my dad, like, last generation,” he said.

Dylan recalled how he told Cole: “I called Cole, I showed him a picture, I was like, ‘Dude, I just found out some f---ing crazy s---.’”

Dylan Sprouse used the genealogy service Ancestry, which uses DNA testing to map out a family tree. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images)

Dylan said he ‘started to get suspicious’ after learning that his father’s uncles were identical twins.

“I’d only ever thought that identical twins or twins in general came from my mom’s side of the family. We had seven sets of twins in four generations,” he said, before adding: 'Because it’s the same family!'

Dylan joked that he does not have ‘webbed toes,’ but said he believes the family’s genes crossed at some point. “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 said.

He added: “A lot of stuff started to make sense, because one of my aunts was a twin, but she was one of the twins who ate her twin in the womb, and when they cut open a cyst in her shoulder, it had teeth and hair.”

Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse got married on July 15, 2023. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/GC Images)

Dylan married model and actress Barbara Palvin in 2023.

The couple recently welcomed their first baby, Sylvie, six weeks before Palvin walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on Oct. 18.

Speaking to E! News, Dylan described Sylvie as ‘really cute’ and said her eyesight is clearing up, so she is starting to recognize faces a lot more.

“She’s smiling and laughing at my jokes, which is all a dad can really dream of,” he added.

Featured Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Topics: Cole Sprouse, Entertainment, Disney