A man accidentally found his transatlantic doppelgänger on Facebook and was doubly astonished to discover — he had the same NAME.
Lookalikes Billy Wright, 23, and Billy Wright, 25, live on opposite sides of the pond but have everything else in common.
They met by chance over Facebook after a man met the America Billy in a bar but tried to contact the UK Billy Wright by accident.
He had confused construction worker Billy Martin Wright, 23, of Bournemouth, Dorset, for 25-year-old metal worker Billy Winslow Wright, of Pennsylvania, US.
After realising his mistake the man added the American Billy – and no one thought any more of it.
But then British Billy was sent a message by someone who looked unnervingly similar to him.
Bewildered labourer Billy said: “Someone this other Billy had met in a bar in America tried adding me as a friend.
“He was speaking to me as if I knew him. He said, ‘I’m your buddy. I met you in the bar the other day.’
“I said, ‘Nah, you have definitely got the wrong person,’ and that was it.
“Then he obviously found the right person and I popped up as a mutual friend on the other guy’s profile.
“I thought it was absolutely crazy. It was as if someone had taken pictures of me while I wasn’t looking.
“None of my family and friends can believe it. Even they think pictures of the other Billy are of me.”
He added: “Everyone has got a doppelgänger but to find one with the same name is just crazy.”
While British Billy is one of seven siblings, has no children and is single, American Billy is an only child and a married step-father of three.
British Billy, who towers at 6ft 2ins, was born to a plasterer and a housewife, Fred and Jean on June 30 1992, and still lives in the same house he grew up in.
Meanwhile, American Billy is 5ft 3ins tall and was born to Julianne and William Wright, a mental health nurse and a metal worker, in Sayre, Pennsylvania, on February 11 1991.
The lookalike now lives with his wife, Kayti, a full-time mum, in neighbouring Athens, Pennsylvania, with her three children, Aailyah, Austin and Jesse.
American Billy said: “I first saw a photo of Billy when his name popped up in the people I may know bar on Facebook.
“It was so interesting. At first I thought of Catfish, the TV show, where people use fake names and pictures to date people.
“I thought it was a fake profile until I realised our tattoos are different, and then I decided to send him a friend request.
“I was amazed at how much we looked alike – I’m still amazed. I can’t believe it.
“None of my friends or family are really sure what to think. It’s mind boggling.”
His doppelgänger added: “It would be good to meet up one day – America isn’t too far so you never know.
“If we ever did meet it would be quite surreal but a lot of good fun if he’s anything like me.”
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