A 26-year-old man dating a woman trapped a child's body has been slammed online by critics who have branded him a 'creep'. Dan Swygart has stirred up some controversy after he started dating 23-year-old Shauna Rae Lesick who is just 3ft and 10ins tall and weighs only 50 pounds which is the average size of an eight-year-old.
However, Dan has recently hit back at trolls who claim he's only attracted to her 'because she looks like a kid', the Mirror reports. Instead, the Welsh entrepreneur insisted he's dating Shauna, who stars in TLC'S 'I Am Shauna Rae', for her 'personality' and not her childlike looks.
Her stunted growth is a side effect of treatment she was given as a child while she battled brain cancer and the petite star has struggled to find love and relationships in her adult life as a result. Viewers of Shauna's TLC show have watched as the couple's relationship unfolded and even the star's parents initially voiced their concerns.
Patty and Mark Schrankel, Shauna's mother and stepfather, previously expressed their worries the 23-year-old would attract paedophiles because of her unusual child-like appearance.
However, Dan was quick to defend his relationship with the star as he explained in a clip on social media: "It's very important to remember that Shauna is an incredible 23-year-old woman who has a disability. 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.
"She's this incredible, inspiring 23-year-old woman who just happens to be a little bit short." He added: "As soon as you say that she can't have a real-world connection with someone else, you dehumanise her, which is absolutely disgusting.
"She is a human being. She deserves to have relationships and connections with whoever she wants. And I think some people aren't emotionally mature enough to understand that you can have a deep connection based on personality rather than just on looks."
Dan's defiant video regarding his relationship comes after comments flooded in after the episode showing their first dates aired. Viewers raced to social media to broadcast their opinions on the 'sick' situation. One viewer commented: "Dan almost seems especially attracted to her BECAUSE she is tiny which is concerning. I am sorry."
Another remarked: "Yes, she is 23, but she looks and talks like an eight-year-old. She also does not act like a mature woman. She is childlike." A third wrote: "If any man or woman can honestly say that they can see her as a 'sexual woman', they are either lying or sick. PERIOD".
Another added: "I don’t know about this guy… I still think it’s creepy". After Dan visited Shauna's home and met her parents, her stepdad Mark gave his blessing for the two to pursue a relationship together.
He said: "I think Dan would be a really good match for Shauna because he's very smart [and] adventurous. Shauna's smart but not very adventurous. I think he could pull her out of [her] comfort zone but still make her safe."
However, their blossoming romance may have already come to an end as Shauna admitted she's not sure she's looking for a long-distance relationship and with Dan living in the UK it would be difficult to maintain. She confessed: "I haven't actually really thought about if Dan and I were in a relationship and how that would look.
"I assume that we would probably try long distance, but I've been in a long-distance relationship. It's not my cup of tea."
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