Dan Swygart is a hunky travel blogger from Wales who recently connected with a girl named Shauna Rae, whose actual age is 23 years. However, physically she looks like an 8-year-old child.
Rae is only 3 feet, 10 inches tall and only 50 pounds. Someone unaware of her real age could mistake her for a third-grader.
Shauna’s brain growth was stunted as a child when she suffered brain cancer. Although after her treatment, she became healthy, however, it impaired her growth.
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Shauna’s disability didn’t stop her from making milestones in her life, but there’s one department she couldn’t make much progress in – love and relationships.
However, recently she connected with an attractive young man who’s also a travel influencer, Dan Swygart, and the two developed an instant connection and friendship.
They developed a strong friendship during the filing of Shauna’s TLC reality series, I Am Shauna Rae.
But as soon as the video went viral, many people criticized the duo, especially Dan, for having a relationship with someone who looks like a child.
Some even went too far and called him a pedophile for having feelings for Rae.
However, Swygart slammed the haters by making a video on the issue and asking people to get some sense and show respect towards Shauna.
In the clip shared by Dan in December, he told people that Rae had suffered a lot in her life and didn’t have a very happy childhood.
He said he developed a connection with her based on the kind of person she is and how she is an amazing individual rather than her appearance.
He revealed that he watched Rae’s show and became so inspired by her emotional strength that he sent her flowers and a card that read, “Go live your best life. Wishing you all the happiness you deserve.”
Dan added that he knew the show was going to get them some hate, but that doesn’t matter.
“It’s very important to remember that Shauna is an incredible 23-year-old woman who has a disability,” he said. “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 an individual.”
The blogger added, “She’s this incredible, inspiring 23-year-old woman who just happens to be a little bit short.”
He said Shauna’s an amazing human being and she deserves to have relationships and connections with whomever she wants.
The couple started talking on social media before Swygart flew out to her hometown in Long Island to meet her in person.
“As soon as you say that she can’t have a real-world connection with someone else, you dehumanize her, which is absolutely disgusting,” he said.
He shared another video on his Instagram on January 22 and said he wanted to address the hateful behavior of people in the past few days.
“It’s absolutely disgusting, the attitude of some people…. you know she has been through so much in life – she survived cancer as a child, and she has always felt different and treated differently by society.”
Dan continued, “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 she can’t have that? He asked.
The travel blogger insisted that people should stop spreading hate. He also said that right now, he and Shauna are being friends and focusing on building a strong friendship bond and a deep connection.
“Well said, you are a good man. So happy for you and Shauna’s friendship too, it feels special and looks like you get real AND has fun together. That’s a simple recipe for an awesome and true friendship,” one person commented on his video.
“The girl is TWENTY-THREE NOT THREE!!! What do you negative people expect her to do? Date an 8 yr old because she looks like one? Geeezus Love and support from CA,” a second wrote.
“To be stuck in a body that you can’t change. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. At the end of the day she is 23 year old young lady and deserves to be treated like her age. That includes finding love,” a third added.