If you wish to unset both variables, you will need to unset the last referenced variable of that condition.
<?php
$a = 1;
$b =& $a;
unset($b);
?>
* These must be in a reference->copy hierarchy in order to unset; example:
<?php
$a = 1;
$b =& $a;
$c =& $b;
unset($c);
?>
This will not work:
<?php
$a = 1;
$b =& $a;
$c = $b;
unset($c);
?>
* Only $c is unset in the above example, meaning that both variables $b and $a are still assigned "1".