A mum of two who is covered in tattoos claims she was made to watch her children's school nativity play through the window because she wasn't welcome inside due to her alternative appearance. Melissa Sloan says she is targeted by cruel trolls both online and in real life because of her face inkings.
As well as allegedly being banned from local pubs because of the way she looks, the tattoo-addict says she is also unable to find a job and has been called a "freak" in public in front of her children, the Daily Star reports. Despite being the season of goodwill, Christmastime is no better for the 45-year-old, from Wales.
Melissa says she is excluded from Christmas parties and doesn't get invited to parent gatherings at her children's school. The outcast mum claims she was also made to watch her children's Christmas performance through the school window because she wasn't welcome inside.
She claimed: "No Christmas parties and when I go to my child's school I don't get invited. They said once for me to go to the back garden and look through the class window - they told me to do so.
"The teachers told me to do that, that's why I don't go to the school play."
Unfortunately for Melissa, the yearly nativity show is not the only thing that she cannot attend at the school. She had to rely on partner Luke to fill in for her as she waits at home by herself.
"He's [Luke] going tonight to the kids' fayre as I can't go there as I'm not wanted", the mum claimed. "I feel so jealous as I can't go there and to the Christmas fayre as I know what they're [teachers and parents] like towards me."
In regards to her tattoos, Melissa is putting the needle down so she can enjoy her yuletide shenanigans with family. She previously told the Daily Star she gets around three new tattoos a week.
She said: "I don't think I'll be having one [tattoo] around Christmastime I'll leave that as it's our time. I'll be selfish if I have one around Christmas. It's their [the children's] time, it's not about me.
"I'll go for the glory after that, I can't wait to get back to normal."
Melissa says she has spent decades under the needle, getting inked regularly since the age of 20. Her tattoos now include crucifixes, hearts, an England flag and butterflies on her face, as well as bold tattoos on the rest of her body.
The mum says the more tattoos she gets, the worse she is treated by society. She says people stare at her in public and have even called her names in front of her young children.
She admits she doesn't like going to the shops and has struggled to find a job because employers cannot see past the heavy inkings on her body. She says people have been aggressive towards her and have even told her her children will run away from her when they're older, leaving her heartbroken.
Despite this, Melissa says her children love her tattoos and like to wearing stick-on temporary tattoos themselves.
She also admitted she is addicted to getting tattoos, with her partner inking her "prison-style" regularly, but says she wishes she was able to get a job. Despite her struggles, Melissa says she is proud of the way she looks and that she doesn't "fit in", adding that she is "always going to be myself".
