Actor Dylan Sprouse said an ancestry test turned up a surprise link between his parents' families, according to People, TMZ and Complex. He spoke about it on the Tuesday, October 20, episode of his Wildmen podcast. The link goes back several generations.

Dylan said both sides of his family lived in California during the Gold Rush, People reported. The two families were joined by marriage in the late 1800s, he said. "And then, they diverged, and then they married again [through] my mom and my dad, like, last generation," he said, according to People.

Dylan, 34, said he dug deeper after learning that his father's uncles were identical twins, People reported. He had thought twins only ran on his mother's side, People and Complex reported. "We had seven sets of twins in four generations," he said, according to People. He said the reason was "because it's the same family!"

Then he made the remark that drew headlines. "Long story short, Cole and I are children of incest," he said, according to People, TMZ and Complex.

The twins are not the product of close incest, Complex reported, citing Entertainment Weekly. The two branches of the family meet several generations back, not anywhere close to their parents, Complex reported.

Dylan said he called his twin brother, Cole, to show him a photo of what he found. "He goes, 'Not looking at that,' closed it, hung up on me," Dylan said, according to TMZ and Complex.

Cole later shared a headline about his brother's comments on his Instagram Stories, TMZ and Complex reported. "No media training on earth can prep you to read this clickbait headline at 10am," he wrote over it.

The twins became famous as children on the Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Dylan and his wife, Barbara Palvin, announced the birth of their first child, a daughter, in September, People reported.

What we know: Dylan Sprouse says his parents' families were joined by marriage generations ago.
What we don't: What the full ancestry results show.