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."
Following 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!
