Celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 13:50 20 Jan 2023 GMT
A 23-year-old woman who is "trapped in the body of an eight-year-old" has revealed her new love interest and introduced him to her parents.
Shauna Rae Lesick is 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds at 23 years of age after undergoing treatment for brain cancer as an infant which subsequently affected her pituitary gland, resulting in her developing pituitary dwarfism, per the Daily Mail.
The star of the TLC show I Am Shauna Rae revealed in the latest series that finding love can be tricky due to her height and that she often draws the wrong kind of attention.
"My relationship status is single. I'm short, leave me alone. I attract creeps, a**holes, and idiots," Rae revealed. "It is scary to put myself out there, but you have to put some risk in to get happiness."
Check out the trailer for the TV show below:
While speaking to the New York Post, the 23-year-old revealed how she spots those who aren't interested in making a genuine connection: "I’ve just developed the ability to spot someone who may not have the best intentions because they give themselves away," she said.
"Their questions are very targeted towards my physicality […] They’re learning about me like I’m a specimen in a lab."
However, Rae appears to have found love. During the series, she opens up about how she met her current love interest Dan Swygart.
Swygart is a 26-year-old traveler from Wales who reached out to Rae after seeing the show and even sent her flowers. The pair began talking and evidently, they hit it off!
"Dan and I met through social media, and we talked for a couple of months," Rae explained. "He travels so often, so he doesn't have service everywhere he goes. We kind of just got along, and we have a lot similar in our lives."
She went on to explain how traveling has always been an interest to her and that Swygart's love of adventuring really gained her interest.
After the pair chatted online for a while, Swygart came to Rae's hometown in Long Island, New York, and they went on a date at an escape room, joined by her half-sister Rylee.
The second date was slightly more awkward as the pair made Sushi rolls at Rae's home while Swygart received an interrogation from her mother and stepfather.
"I think Dan would be a really good match for Shauna because he's very smart [and] adventurous. Shauna's smart but not very adventurous," her stepfather Mark Schrankel told the camera.
He claimed that the pair could travel the world together, but this claim was met with apprehension from Patty, Rae's mother. They had candidly told the documentary crew that they were worried about their daughter attracting pedophiles due to her appearance.
Rae and Swygart shared a slow dance at a charity event before he had to leave, with the 23-year-old revealing she will see where things go as long-distance relationships aren't her "cup of tea."
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film & tv3 min(s) read
Published 09:51 08 Feb 2023 GMT
A 23-year-old woman whose body has the appearance of that of an eight-year-old has started dating other men following the controversy surrounding her previous alleged relationship.
Shauna Rae Lesick - who is the star of TLC's reality show I Am Shauna Rae - is 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds at 23 years of age after undergoing treatment for brain cancer as an infant which subsequently affected her pituitary gland, resulting in her developing pituitary dwarfism.
Her series explores how she lives her life, her intentions for the future, and how she's been unfortunate in love and draws attention from the wrong people due to her appearance.
E! Online reported that the reality star has faced many difficulties due to her age not matching the way she looks. In the docuseries, Shauna Rae details her struggles trying to get a tattoo and buying alcohol, as well as dating.
Recently, a man from Wales, UK - who Shauna Rae was reportedly dating - faced criticism for supposedly entering into a relationship with the very young-looking TV personality.
Dan Swygart, 26, who ended up appearing on Shauna Rae's show faced a barrage of hate online despite the fact that the purported relationship was between two consenting legal adults.
Dan eventually took to social media to upload a video defending himself against the trolls, saying: "Me and Shauna are still just really good friends getting to know each other, but I think it's absolutely disgusting, the attitude of some people.
"She's been through so much in her life - she survived cancer as a child, she's always felt different and been treated differently by society.
"But how dare you take away her right, her human right, to have a connection, a friendship, a relationship with someone else? Who are you to say that she can't have that? I am absolutely disgusted about some people's attitudes towards her and my friendship with her. I cannot believe some people who deny her the right to have a friendship or a connection with someone else."
Following the controversy, Shauna Rae is shown in the series preparing to go on a date, after revealing that she'd prefer to meet a matchmaker rather than continue online dating. She admitted that she found dating scary as she wasn't sure how potential love interests would react to her size.
"A lot of people are like 'oh you're like right up to my shoulders', [and] I'm like 'no I'm up to your groin'," she revealed.
Although she was anxious, Shauna Rae ended up heading on a blind date, however, her date cancelled just before they were scheduled to meet.
In a podcast episode from last year, Shauna Rae explained the struggles she has when it comes to sex. "I know sex is a huge topic when it comes to disability and just dwarfism in general, so it is something that is touchy. But it's something that needs to be talked about. I don't think sex should be so taboo as it is in our society," she stated, via E! Online.
She added that, based on her experience, sex should be viewed in a positive way as it helps connect people: "At least for me, it was confirmation that I can kind of do whatever I want, because growing up I was told that it might not be a possibility.
"And when I found the boyfriend that I had and we dated for a couple years and it finally happened, it made me feel like a normal woman."
celebrity2 min(s) read
Published 14:36 24 Jan 2023 GMT
A man who is said to be the love interest of a woman "trapped in the body of an eight-year-old" has hit back at critics who trolled him online.
Shauna Rae Lesick - star of TLC's I Am Shauna Rae - is 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds at 23 years of age after undergoing treatment for brain cancer as an infant which subsequently affected her pituitary gland, resulting in her developing pituitary dwarfism.
Due to her condition, Shauna has been open about how finding love can be tricky and that she worries that she will attract the wrong sort of attention.
Another factor that makes a romantic life tricky is the negative attention that any potential partner will receive online, as one man, unfortunately, came to find.
Dan Swygart, 26, reached out to Shauna after seeing the show and the pair began chatting which led to them meeting up on more than one occasion.
After appearing on the TLC show, Dan was met with a wall of online abuse, with some branding him a "creep" for his alleged interest in Shauna.
The Welsh traveler has since hit back at his critics via Instagram, where he has responded to the unfounded claims that his interest in Shauna wasn't sincere.
Dan said in a video: "Me and Shauna are still just really good friends getting to know each other, but I think it’s absolutely disgusting, the attitude of some people.
Check out what Dan had to say below:"She’s been through so much in her life - she survived cancer as a child, she’s always felt different and been treated differently by society.
"But how dare you take away her right, her human right, to have a connection, a friendship, a relationship with someone else? Who are you to say that she can’t have that?
"I am absolutely disgusted about some people’s attitudes towards her and my friendship with her. I cannot believe some people who deny her the right to have a friendship or a connection with someone else."
Dan stated that nobody has the right to take away Shauna's opportunities to have real friendships and connections with people after what she has been through.
"She is a human being, she’s a cancer survivor, she’s got a disability, she has dwarfism [...] How dare you? How dare you?" Dan concluded.
The 26-year-old's parents have also jumped to his defense, claiming that there is nothing romantic happening between the pair and they have struck up a platonic relationship.
us3 min(s) read
Published 13:44 08 Mar 2023 GMT
A man who was romantically linked to a woman who is "trapped in the body of an eight-year-old" appears to have hinted that the pair have rekindled their connection.
Shauna Rae Lesick - star of TLC's I Am Shauna Rae - is 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds at 23 years of age due to undergoing treatment for brain cancer when she was an infant that impacted her pituitary gland which stunted her growth resulting in Shauna developing pituitary dwarfism.
Viewers watch the 23-year-old navigate her day-to-day life on her show, and part of the intrigue is her romantic life, which proves tricky due to her condition.
Her parents are often concerned that she will attract attention from men with bad intentions, and men that are potentially genuinely interested are often subjected to online criticism.
After seeing the show, 26-year-old Dan Swygart reached out to Shauna and the pair struck up a bond which led to them having multiple meetings.
The traveler from Wales met Shauna's family and even mentioned that the pair could go traveling together which didn't sit too well with her mother.
After appearing on the show, Dan was hit with backlash online with some calling him a "creep" for his interest in Shauna.
He hit back at his critics, saying via Instagram: "Me and Shauna are still just really good friends getting to know each other, but I think it’s absolutely disgusting, the attitude of some people."
Check out what Dan had to say below:
Dan continued: "How dare you take away her right, her human right, to have a connection, a friendship, a relationship with someone else? Who are you to say that she can’t have that?
"I am absolutely disgusted about some people’s attitudes towards her and my friendship with her. I cannot believe some people who deny her the right to have a friendship or a connection with someone else."
Dan has updated viewers on his relationship with Shauna, and it would appear that the pair are still in contact despite living in different countries.
Taking to Instagram stories, the 26-year-old wrote: "Literally every single time I go on Facebook or YouTube all I see are videos of me and Shauna. Me and Shauna are still good friends, getting to know each other."
Dan Swygart took to Instagram stories to update viewers on his relationship with Shauna. Credit: InstagramFollowing the criticism that Dan received for his relationship with Shauna, his parents jumped to his defense.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, his mother Helen said: "Daniel rang me and told me the story has gone everywhere. They are just friends. There is no relationship."
His father Steven added that although Dan has admiration for Shauna, the relationship was purely platonic.
"He looks at her and thinks she is a tremendous person despite her disability, she's only small," Steven said before adding that it is unlikely that anything romantic is going on.
It's great to see that Dan and Shauna haven't let online trolls get the better of them and that they are still in touch!
film & tv3 min(s) read
Published 09:20 01 Apr 2023 GMT
Shauna Rae has apparently got a message for people who keep calling her a woman "stuck in an eight-year-old's body."
The 23-year-old reality TV personality - who is the star of TLC's reality show I Am Shauna Rae - is three feet 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds at 23 years of age after undergoing treatment for brain cancer as an infant which subsequently affected her pituitary gland, resulting in her developing pituitary dwarfism.
Her series - which is shown on TLC - explores how she lives her life, her intentions for the future, and how she's been unfortunate in love and draws attention from the wrong people due to her appearance.
One man - a Welshman named Dan - who she began meeting even hit out at critics who attacked their relationship and called him a "creep". He hit back at them, saying via Instagram: "Me and Shauna are still just really good friends getting to know each other, but I think it's absolutely disgusting, the attitude of some people."
Dan continued: "How dare you take away her right, her human right, to have a connection, a friendship, a relationship with someone else? Who are you to say that she can't have that? I am absolutely disgusted about some people's attitudes towards her and my friendship with her. I cannot believe some people who deny her the right to have a friendship or a connection with someone else."
He since updated viewers on his relationship with Shauna, and it would appear that the pair are still in contact despite living in different countries.
Shauna herself has also got a lot to say about the trolls who have criticized her life and the way she looks, especially those who say she's "stuck in an eight-year-old's body". Of course, the term comes from the show's official synopsis on the TLC website, which reads: "Young adult Shauna Rae survived a rare form of brain cancer as a child, but now navigates life in the body of an eight-year-old."
Taking to Instagram, Shauna corrected a user who referred to her as a woman "stuck in an eight-year-old body". Shauna uploaded a video explaining that she actually doesn't identify with the phrasing. "I just want to correct your wording. I know that 'the woman stuck in the body of an eight-year-old' is the catchphrase that's attached to me, but I don't personally connect with it. I think it's actually very inaccurate," she said in the video.
She continued, "I am not stuck in the body of an eight-year-old. I am a 23-year-old woman whose body is 23 years old. It's matured. It's gone through puberty. I've grown in areas that eight-year-olds don't until they've hit puberty, which is later in life. I am just a shorter-statured woman, and my body is at the average height of an eight-year-old."
In the post's caption, Shauna further clarified her explanation, adding: "Definitely going to get some more out there but I think this one is super important because it gives y'all insight on to how I actually view myself no matter what verbiage that's attached with pituitary dwarfism.
"I do believe that if you genuinely take the time you'll notice that I'm no different just short."
celebrity2 min(s) read
Published 10:17 24 Jan 2023 GMT
The parents of the man who was reportedly the new love interest of a 23-year-old woman who is "trapped in the body of an eight-year-old" have defended their son and his romantic ventures.
Shauna Rae Lesick, the star of the TLC show I Am Shauna Rae, revealed in the latest series that finding love can be tricky due to her height and that she often draws the wrong kind of attention.
In the most recent series of the show, Shauna introduced viewers to Dan Swygart, a 26-year-old traveler from Wales, UK, who reached out to her after seeing the show and even sent her flowers.
The pair seemingly hit it off and went on a date at an escape room, before the 26-year-old met Shauna's mother and stepfather while making sushi at her house.
Shauna's stepfather Mark Schrankel appeared to take to his stepdaughter's love interesting, saying: "I think Dan would be a really good match for Shauna because he's very smart [and] adventurous. Shauna's smart but not very adventurous."
Her mother was a bit more apprehensive, especially about the prospect of the pair traveling the world together, as she rather candidly explained that she is worried about her daughter attracting pedophiles.
Dan has been the subject of brutal trolling on social media, with some branding him a "creep" for his attraction to 3ft10 tall Shauna.
However, the 26-year-old's parents who live in rural North Wales have jumped to his defense, claiming that their son holds no romantic interest in the 23-year-old.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, his mother Helen said: "Daniel rang me and told me the story has gone everywhere. They are just friends. There is no relationship."
Dan's father Steven added that his son had appeared in the show but that was the extent of the relationship between him and Shauna.
"He looks at her and thinks she is a tremendous person despite her disability, she's only small," Steven said, before adding that it's "extremely unlikely" that there is anything romantic going on.
Dan also defended his relationship with Shauna, saying on Instagram: "It's very important to remember that Shauna is an incredible 23-year-old woman who has a disability."
Dan continued: "So as you are building a connection with her, it's important to acknowledge her disability and look past that and build it with who she is as an individual.
"She's this incredible, inspiring 23-year-old woman who just happens to be a little bit short."
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