‘1-in-200-million’ identical triplets graduate high school, head to NYC to pursue dreams

DIXMONT, Maine (WABI/Gray News) – Identical triplets from Maine are graduating high school and heading off to the Big Apple to pursue their dreams.

The Lacadie triples – Madison, Kacie and Grace – were born in May 2005 and received immediate media coverage. The odds of having identical triplets are about 1 in 200 million, according to NPR.

The young women – who just turned 18 – will be graduating this weekend from Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, all with highest honors.

Back in 2005, proud parents Donald and Courtney Lacadie said they didn’t know how they were going to raise three girls at once, still in shock of knowing they had such a rare set of triplets.

But now, their mother said she can hardly believe her baby girls are now adults.

“I’m very excited to see what their future holds,” Courtney Lacadie said. “I know that they will do something amazing. They have each other, and they have big dreams and goals, and I know they’re going to be OK.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, most triplets are formed when three separate, individual eggs are fertilized by three separate sperm. This creates three separate siblings, each with individual characteristics.

In other cases, two separate eggs are fertilized, and one of them splits into two – creating a set of identical twins and a third separate sibling inside the womb.

However, in extremely rare cases, one single egg is fertilized and then splits into three – creating identical triplets.

Growing up, the Lacadie girls stayed close and considered each other their best friends. Their mom said she used to offer for her daughters to invite friends over, but they would decline.

“And they’re like, ‘No, we have our best friends at home, mom,’” Courtney Lacadie said.

All throughout school, the trio did everything together. They were all flyers on the cheerleading squad, National Honor Society members and involved in drama club.

Of course, they even attended events like prom together.

But rest assured, they are still typical 18-year-olds, saying there’s always competition between themselves.

“Oh, all the time,” Madison said, with her two sisters nodding along, laughing.

The young ladies plan to stick together for the foreseeable future, all heading off to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City this fall. All three are majoring in fashion business management.

Their next adventure will leave the Lacadies with an empty nest for the first time in 18 years, which is hard for the parents to come to terms with.

“It’s going to be awful, yes,” Courtney Lacadie said, smiling. “It’s going to be horrible.”

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