Little Bear Schwarz and Tobias Bradick are a happily married couple with a difference: Little Bear, a classical singer, is a Christian, while her spouse Tobias is a practising Satanist.
Before meeting Tobias, Little Bear worried that she'd never find love. However, after meeting online, the two quickly fell for one another and married in a joint ceremony in Tacoma, Washington.
Little Bear was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome when she was 14: a condition which affects fertility and often causes weight gain and excessive body hair growth. She embraced her bearded look, and even won a local competition for bearded ladies, before joining a touring sideshow called 'Wreckless Freeks' for four years.
However, Little Bear still felt lonely. After joining a Facebook group for polyamorous people in 2014, she posted a Facebook message in 2017 expressing her fears that she would always be single. That was when former navy mechanic Tobias replied and asked her out, and the rest is history.
Commenting on her relationship in a recent interview, Little Bear stated: "Tobias is a Satanist whereas I am a Christian, which might sound like we are at odds with one another. But really, we have the same ethical codes – we just express them through different means ...
"He’s the first man that I have felt totally comfortable with, who loves me for the person I am – beard and all ... For me, it’s difficult to find someone, as they have to be really confident and proud to be with me, because, inevitably, they will be known as the person who goes out with a bearded lady."
However, that isn't to say that Little Bear hasn't had her share of amorous attention from suitors - specifically, from men with an esoteric fetish for women with facial hair.
"I’ve always been wary of people who fetishise my beard," she continued. "I want someone to like me for who I am – not just a specific feature and that balance was often difficult to find. I think [Tobias] respected the fact that I wasn’t afraid to show off my beard and that I embraced it as part of my life and part of my femininity."
She added: "Having a Satanist and a Christian getting married, you’d have thought there might be problems. But there were none at all. We both brought our respective beliefs and values to the ceremony and we both respected the other person’s. Because at the end of the day, marriage is about two people loving each other – and that’s all that matters."
It's pretty inspiring to know that there's someone for everyone out there and that our religious beliefs aren't always a barrier when true love is involved. All the best to Tobias Bradick and Little Bear: I'm sure they'll have a very happy marriage.
