Shauna Rae has to take a different approach to dating, and she revealed how she weeds out the creeps who want to date her for the wrong reasons.
Shauna Rae Lesick - star of TLC's I Am Shauna Rae - is 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds at 25 years of age due to undergoing treatment for brain cancer when she was an infant.
This impacted her pituitary gland which stunted her growth resulting in Shauna developing pituitary dwarfism.
Viewers watch the 25-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 who are potentially genuinely interested are often subjected to online criticism.
“If you look at me, you see an eight-year-old,” she told The New York Post. “But I think if you take the time to look at the details in my face, in my hands, the maturity in my body—and I think if you take the time to actually talk to me—you really understand that I’m a [then] 23-year-old.”
During the show’s premiere episode, Rae shared that she is single and eager to find love, though her dating journey has been far from simple. In a teaser earlier this year, she opened up about the frustrations of attracting unsuitable matches.
“My relationship status is single. I’m short, leave me alone,” Rae quipped, expressing her exasperation with the dating scene. “I attract creeps, a**holes, and idiots. It is scary to put myself out there, but you have to put some risk in to get happiness.”
Her unique perspective has, over time, helped Rae identify people with less-than-genuine intentions.
“I’ve just developed the ability to spot someone who may not have the best intentions because they give themselves away,” she shared. “Their questions are very targeted towards my physicality [...] They’re learning about me like I’m a specimen in a lab.”
Beyond dating, Rae’s series highlights her efforts to live independently, including learning to drive with hand controls, as she is too short to use standard pedal extensions. She is also determined to gain financial independence and move out on her own.
However, Rae’s appearance often leads to misunderstandings in public spaces, which can be a source of frustration. She described a recent experience at a medical lab where staff questioned her age, assuming she was a child.
“I’ve had multiple issues with people not believing me when I told them my age,” Rae recounted. “One thing that happened recently was I went to a [lab] to get my blood taken … I was trying to leave, but some employee wouldn’t allow me to, because they thought I was a child leaving without a parent.”
Despite showing her ID and pointing out her tattoos and piercings, staff members escalated the issue, even involving a supervisor who refused to believe Rae was an adult.
“They all denied the fact that I was an adult, and they would not let me leave the property without an adult to take me home,” she said, noting that she ultimately left without being noticed. “It was so extreme.”
Reflecting on these experiences, Rae emphasized the emotional toll. “It’s painful when society doesn’t accept you for who you are,” she said. “I want people to not question me when I say who I am. I’m OK with showing proof, if necessary.”
“But if you’re a typical regular Joe off the street, then you need to take me at my word,” she added.
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