Relying on their ‘twin-tuition’

Identical twins Annamarie and Ginamarie Russo, natives of south Lynbrook and Hewlett, are battling it out for a win on VH-1’s reality competition show, “Twinning.” It premiered on July 21 in its debut season and airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
The Russo sisters are competing against 11 other sets of twins to win a grand prize of $222,222.22. All the twins are challenged with a series of tasks, but cannot enlist their sibling for help. The twins who best complete the tasks relying on intuition and skill will win the money.
Annamarie said she found out about “Twinning” through word-of-mouth. “We did a video admission we called, ‘A Day in the Life of Twins,’” she said. “The show’s producers flew us out to Los Angeles within the week. Everything happened really quickly. We were up against 1,000 twins from all over the country. We had no idea what we were getting into.”
The biggest challenge in their lives is that the girls have been separated for a lengthy period of time, where they’ve had limited communication, Ginamarie said. “I don’t have any bonds with any one of the other twins on the show,” she said. “Alliances are ever changing. While friends come and go on the show, I have always been true to myself.”
When the show began, Ginamarie said she didn’t know if she could finish competing. “I had tunnel vision,” she said. “I just wanted to see Annamarie. I cried to the producer on the first day and said that I didn’t know if I could do it. The producer said, ‘Yes, you can.’ Seeing my sister after being separated on the show crying when she saw me has been the hardest part — intense.”

Being on the show for Annamarie has helped her realize how strong her bond is with Ginamarie. “In observing other twins, G and I didn’t realize we could get even closer,” she said. “In thinking about the show, it has been relying on our intuition, or as well call it, our ‘twin-tuition,’ that will make our connection even stronger outside of the show. It’s making us more confident.”
Zak Gross, Annamarie’s boyfriend who lives in Manhattan, has no doubt in his mind that the girls will win. “Both Annamarie and Ginamarie are smart, beautiful and funny,” he said. “They work as a team to get things accomplished, but are also independently strong. They are goal oriented, and have strong intuition.” 
After the show is completed, the twins have several projects in the works. Both Russo twins are actresses, models and supporters of different causes. Annamarie, a vegan, supports healthy school foods in New York, while Ginamarie, who has rheumatoid arthritis, is a member of the Long Island chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.
“We have two small parts in a movie, which one is coming out at Sundance, ‘Fair Market Value,’ and the other in theaters, ‘Abnormal Attraction,’” Annamarie said. “We got to act together. We’re very creative in nature. Both films are comedies. People find us funny.”
Tom Gambino of Atlantic Beach is a mutual best friend of the twins. “They are tenacious, driven and don’t quit until they come out on top,” he said. “They are super starlets.”