The aim was to explore and describe how older twins reared apart and reared together experience the twin relationship over a life course. Method: The data consisted of life stories of 30 Swedish older (70+) identical and fraternal twins which were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The relationship patterns among twins reared apart were related to the time of separation, family upbringing, time spent together after re-union and over the life course. Twins who spent their first years in the biological family and thereafter separated, could continue their relationship over the life course, showing the same kind of relationship patterns that twins reared together. Twins who were separated during their first year after birth and reunited several years later showed a more complex relationship pattern, where some lacked an emotionally close relationship and others gradually developed such a relationship over the years. This challenges popular views on twins reared apart being emotionally close. In comparison to twins reared together the results implies the importance of spending time together in order to develop emotional closeness in the relationship.