‘I didn’t care which one I kissed!’ The friends who married identical twins

2 hours ago 1

By Susan Horsburgh

December 11, 2025 — 11.00am

Winemakers Nina Stocker (left) and Kate Day, both 44, became friends at uni – and then sisters-in-law when they fell in love with identical twin brothers, despite always thinking they had very different tastes in men.

“I can’t even separate her as a friend and as a sister-in-law any more,” Nina says. “We’re just family.”

Nina: We met in 2003 on the first day of uni in Adelaide, doing a post-grad in winemaking. My nickname’s Nina, but my real name is Katherine, and Kate’s name is Kathryn, so she came bounding up when she saw my name tag. She was warm, gregarious – and already networking. With uni projects, she’d be all organised: “Where are you up to with the assignment?” I’d be like, “The one due in three weeks?” She’d say, “Yeah, I’m nearly finished.” I’d worry about it two days before it was due. It drove her nuts when we got the same result.

We went different ways after uni: I worked in Italy, the Yarra Valley, Portugal and France; Kate was in Tasmania, Napa and Burgundy. We didn’t see each other much until Kate’s wedding to Micah in 2007. By then, I was over men. The night before the wedding, I was chatting to Micah’s twin, John, and he was being friendly and flirty. That night, I had this dream he was spooning me. At the wedding, Kate said, “John really likes you. You should hook up with him.” I was surprised she was so enthusiastic about it. And then John and I kissed. Immediately, I started to worry about getting John and Micah confused: I couldn’t tell them apart.

Kate was at uni, at a rugby game in Wagga, when she first met Micah, but it was John she saw playing rugby. She said, “Who’s that guy? He’s gorgeous!” She turned around to ask someone, and there was Micah: the guy she was looking at on the field was standing right there. Kate being type A and Micah being more B, they work together. Kate and John are too similar: they’d have butted heads, for sure.

Once, we were chatting about movie stars we thought were handsome. We kept saying about each other’s picks, “Really? I don’t like him at all.” I remember saying, “We just don’t have the same taste in men, do we?” Well.

We live in Seymour, Victoria, and Kate and Micah are in Mudgee, NSW, but we speak almost every day. We both have two kids. Mine love seeing Aunty Kate: she’s always the life of the party. She arrives with a huge basket of things, with French champagne and presents for the kids. I’m always scrambling to remember when their birthdays are. Kate was more regimented with her babies’ routines and her kitchen is always spotless. Mine’s chaotic.

Micah, Kate, John and Nina. “You can’t choose your family, but I kind of did,” Kate says.

Kate was made redundant when she was seven months pregnant. The next day, she was already, “Right, I’ll start my own business consulting.” I’m in awe of her ability to chase what she wants. She was listening to [the podcast] Mamamia Out Loud recently, and the hosts were talking about all the celebrities who have a rosé – what they call “bitch diesel” – named after them, and how they should have their own. Kate was at their office with our rosé the very next day.

We’re there for each other no matter what. I can’t even separate her as a friend and as a sister-in-law any more. We’re just family.

Kate: Everyone thinks Nina’s lovely; it’s a bit sickening, actually. She’s very calm, pragmatic and composed. She’s got that quiet confidence. I’m a bit in awe of it. At uni, she didn’t eat much meat, so I thought she was a weirdo: I’d invite her over and cook her a steak. She was really good at chemistry and I was useless; she’d do her assignments at the last minute and beat me in all of them.

At our wedding, we were all dancing and drinking and I noticed Nina and John were missing. So I commandeered the photographer to “pap” them. Nina says they were just having this great, in-depth talk outside, but we have this photo of them – the first of them together – and Nina’s got her hand up: it looks just like a “pap” shot.

The “pap” photo of John and Nina (right) taken at the wedding of Micah and Kate (left).

I thought it was just going to be a one-night thing – and then it wasn’t. There was some jealousy on my part: if they ended up together, everyone was going to like her more than me. I felt like I’d be the other wife or daughter-in-law and she’d be “the nice one”. She’s the favourite daughter-in-law, for sure. She’s probably everyone’s favourite – except for Micah’s!

Micah and John are mirror-image. When I first saw them in Wagga, I didn’t care which one I kissed! We had friends in central Victoria who didn’t realise Micah was a twin. Or that John was in the area. Nina and John must have been walking down the street holding hands, and this friend messaged Micah and said, “Mate, if you don’t tell Kate you’re having an affair, I will.” Micah just burst out laughing: “That’s my brother and sister-in-law!”

They’ll come to my house and leave glasses everywhere, and I’m always putting them in the dishwasher. I probably frustrate the life out of her with my anal-ness. I have highly organised holidays – if we’re skiing, we’re first there, but Neens has to have her coffee and she’s stuffing around. I’m sitting there going, “Grrrr, we’ll meet you there.” She’s more earthy, always outside doing something with her kids or in the garden. Her daughter will eat a bulb of fennel, whereas my kids go straight for the bikkie tin. Sometimes, I feel, “God, she’s outdoing me at everything!”

We started In Two Minds [their straight-to-consumer wine label] in 2017. We have disagreements but we don’t get the shits with each other; there’s a lot at stake. In 2020, I had a melanoma and it was a good prognosis, but you automatically go to the worst-case scenario. I remember her kindness and compassion: “Do you need me to take work off your plate?” I know I can always lean on her.

Sometimes, we’ll give ourselves a couple of days to catch up poolside at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane. We’ll sit in a cabana with our laptops and pretend we’re working, but we’re really just gossiping. You can’t choose your family, but I kind of did; that’s really special. I remember thinking on our honeymoon, ‘If they get married, we’ll both be Kath Day!’ [Kath Day-Knight, a character from Kath & Kim]. Noice, different, unusual – and we make ‘cardonnay’!

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