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David and Stephen FlynnDavid and Stephen Flynn (born 12 December 1979),[1] also known as The Happy Pear Twins, are Irish business people, chefs, and media personalities.[2][3] BackgroundThe twins were born in Calgary, Canada. Their parents, Ismay and Donal Flynn, are Irish. The family returned to Ireland when the twins were two years old. They have two younger brothers, Mark and Darragh.[4] CareersIn 2004, they opened the Happy Pear Café and Natural Food Shop in Greystones, County Wicklow.[4][5] At its peak, the business employed 200 people in 4 locations. By 2021 this decreased to 72 people, closing several locations .[6] They won the 2016 Avonmore Cookbook of the Year Award at the Irish Book Awards.[7] The twins won the 2021 celebrity edition of Ireland's Fittest Family.[8] They have a large online social media presence, including more than 600,000 Instagram followers.[5] Medical misinformationThe Flynns were criticized for making unfounded medical claims around the effect of diet for cancer prevention by some medical professionals. In an April 2022 video, they made incorrect claims about breast cancer rates and falsely stated that certain foods could reduce risk of cancer. Their statements were widely condemned, including by cancer surgeon Liz O'Riordan and cancer scientist David Robert Grimes who described the video as "irresponsible".[9][10][11][12] The twins later admitted they had "made a mistake" and were "ignorant" before deleting the video.[13] They also appeared on Ray D'Arcy's national radio show to apologise. They discussed their apology video, which received criticism from some for appearing insincere. However, they explained that their nervousness contributed to that impression. They promised to "stick with our own expertise" in the future.[14] In April 2023 they issued an apology for an episode of their podcast which they admitted misled and misinformed listeners. In the show, their guest Zach Bush had made incorrect claims about the effects of antibiotics on mental health.[15][16] Bush has been described as a pseudoscientist, a Covid denier, and a denier of germ theory.[17] The podcast claims were widely refuted, including by medical consultant, Niamh Lynch.[16] Personal livesStephen is married to Justyna, a child psychologist from Poland. They have three children. David has two children with his ex-wife, Janet. David remarried in 2022 to Sabrina from Belgium. They have one child.[18][19] The Flynns have been compared to fellow celebrity Irish twins Jedward and as a result have been nicknamed "Hummus Jedward" and "Vegward".[4][5] References
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