High school crowns fraternal twins as homecoming king and queen
Riley Fogarty has a winning smile and an infectious personality. The senior is the biggest booster for the Bismarck High School football team in North Dakota.
His twin sister, Ellie, is his biggest cheerleader. "Riley and I have been pretty much besties from the get-go," she said.
Riley, who is autistic, has special needs and special gifts. "I think Riley has taught everyone a lot about acceptance, and he's taught people how to see beyond differences," Ellie said.
Then, in September, a surprise came when Riley was crowned homecoming king. Ellie was bursting with pride when the announcement was made at the homecoming game.
"When they called his name, I just lost it," she said. "I freaked out, and I was so ecstatic."
"What did some of your classmates tell you is the reason they wanted Riley as homecoming king?" CBS News asked.
"They said it would just be awesome to see him so happy," Ellie responded.
"Yeah, they said it would be awesome," Riley added.
"Did any of the classmates tell you how they felt?" Ellie asked her brother.
"Felt good," Riley said. "Pretty powerful. Pretty proud."
But there was one more secret, and Ellie never saw it coming. It came when the homecoming game announcer said, "And the homecoming queen wearing the white Deacons jersey – Ellie Fogarty!"
"I was looking around, everyone was looking at me and cheering," Ellie said. "And then I feel the crown on my head, and I was like, 'oh, my gosh. I just won.'"
The fraternal twins are a king and queen whose reign brought sunshine and are teaching the world about brotherly love.
Riley and Ellie said they are "BFFs" or best friends forever. It's a forever that began the moment they were born.