Featured Image Credit: TLC
Topics: Sex and Relationships
Dominic Smithers
A woman who's 'trapped in the body of an eight-year-old' has started dating someone.
Shauna Rae was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was a child, which led to her undergoing chemotherapy.
The treatment led to her suffering damage to her pituitary gland, which affected her growth and caused her to develop pituitary dwarfism.
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As a result, despite being 23 years old, she stands at 3ft 10in tall and weighs just 50lbs.
In the TLC series I Am Shauna Rae, she has opened up about her condition and how it has affected her life.
And she even introduces viewers to her new potential partner, Dan, who she has been seeing since he slid into her DMs after reading about her story.
While the relationship has been strictly long distance since they started chatting, Dan, who is from Wales, travelled to her home in the US to see Shauna and her family last year.
"I haven’t actually really thought about if Dan and I were in a relationship and how that would look," she said, discussing the practicalities of a possible relationship.
“I assume that we would probably try long-distance, but I’ve been in a long-distance relationship and it’s not my cup of tea.
“So, either he would have to find a settle-down place or I would have to start travelling with him."
Dan, 26, recently invited Shauna as his plus one to his friend's wedding in Malaysia.
And while they're very protective of their daughter, Shauna's parents said they think it would be great for her to go.
"Dan taking Shauna out of the country, I think would be really cool," said her stepdad. "I think she’d have a good time.
“I don’t think I’d be as concerned if Shauna went on a trip with Dan because she’s with Dan.
“I mean, I think the first thing he would do is protect Shauna.”
Despite the stamp of approval, though, Shauna said that she doesn't think they would really want her to go.
She said: "They probably wouldn’t let me go if it actually happened."
Shauna says that she's had some bad experiences with dating in the past.
But she's now able to spot the guys who just see her as a science experiment.
"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.”