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A 23-year-old woman searching for love while trapped in the body of an eight-year-old girl has introduced her parents to a potential new partner after he slipped into her DMs.
At 3 feet 10 inches tall, Shauna Rae Lesick is the average height of a third grader and weighs just 50 pounds. Her stunted growth is a side effect of brain cancer treatment when she was a baby, and she is often mistaken for a girl.
She has previously been candid about the unique dating struggles she has faced as a result of her condition, once revealing her parents’ fears that she would attract pedophiles due to her childish appearance.
But, in a recent episode of his TLC reality series ‘I am Shauna Rae‘, the reality star took a big leap in love and talked about how she connected with Dan Swygart, a 26-year-old traveler from Wales who reached out to her and sent her flowers after watching the first season of her show.
Shauna Rae Lesick, 23, introduced Dan Swygart, 26, to her parents on a recent episode of her TLC reality series ‘I Am Shauna Rae.’
Shauna’s stunted growth is a side effect of surviving brain cancer as a baby. The chemotherapy left her pituitary gland inactive, causing pituitary dwarfism.
‘Dan and I met through social media and talked for a couple of months. He travels so often that he has no service wherever he goes,’ he explained. “We just get along, and we have a lot of similar things going on in our lives.”
Shauna noted that she “has always wanted to travel,” and Dan’s adventures are when they “piqued her interest.”
“He’s a good guy,” he added.
After meeting her, he came to her hometown on Long Island, New York to meet her in person. They spent the day in an aquarium and escape room with her 18-year-old half-sister Rylee.
“Rylee and I were so anxious because we didn’t know what she wanted,” Shauna admitted. “She was also talking to both of them casually, so we didn’t know who she was into.”
Shauna has been candid about how her parents are concerned that she will attract pedophiles because she is 3 feet 10 inches, the average height for a third grader.
Dan, a traveler from Wales, watched the first season of her reality show and reached out to her on social media before sending her flowers, leading them to talk regularly.
After meeting her, he came to the United States to meet her in person. They spent the day in an aquarium and escape room with her 18-year-old half-sister Rylee (pictured).
“Rylee and I were so anxious because we didn’t know what she wanted,” Shauna admitted. “He was also talking to both of them casually so we didn’t know who he was into.”
The next time Dan came to visit Shauna, he went to her house to make sushi rolls. She introduced him to her mother and stepfather, Patty and Mark Schrankel, who couldn’t resist giving him the third degree.
Shauna has been candid about how her parents are worried that she will attract pedophiles because of her childish appearance.
She was six months old when she was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. She had surgery and she underwent three years of chemotherapy. While the treatment was successful, she left her pituitary gland nearly inactive, which stunted her growth.
She grew another eight inches with the help of synthetic hormone injections, but when she was 16, her doctor told her her bones had fused together and she was not going to grow any more. She was only inches short of 4 feet.
Patty wanted to know if they were more than friends and how often they talked, which, according to Dan, was almost daily at the time.
Shauna admitted that she’s not sure what’s in store for her and Dan in the future because she’s worried about starting a long-distance relationship.
The next time Dan came to visit Shauna, he went over to her house to make sushi rolls and met her mother and stepfather, Patty and Mark Schrankel.
Patty wanted to know if they were more than friends and how often they talked, which according to Dan was almost every day at the time.
“I think Dan would be a good match for Shauna because he’s so smart. [and] adventurer,’ said his stepfather
‘I’m not really irritated with my family when they raise those questions about the future. I haven’t talked about it with Dan. I’m letting it slide, but it’s good to try to see if he can answer it,” Shauna said in her confessional.
Dan seemed visibly uncomfortable with the questioning, but was open about how he wanted to take his daughter around the world with him on his travels.
“I think Dan would be a good match for Shauna because he’s so smart. [and] adventurous. Shauna is smart but not very adventurous,” her stepfather said to the camera. “I think he could get her out of [her] comfort zone, but still make it safe.
Shauna admitted that she’s not sure what’s in store for her and Dan in the future because she’s worried about starting a long-distance relationship.
“I haven’t really thought about if Dan and I were in a relationship and what that would look like,” she explained. ‘I guess we’d probably try long distance, but I’ve been in a long distance relationship. This is not my cup of tea.’
Shauna’s parents tried to support Dan when he wanted to take her to Malaysia for a wedding, but she called them “blatant liars” and insisted they would never let her go.
The visit ended when Dan visited her while she was waitressing at a charity event.
Shauna and Dan shared an awkward slow dance before he left. She wasn’t sure when she would see him again, but she was sure she would.
She noted that he would have to settle somewhere or she would have to start traveling with him. He had already asked her to go to Malaysia with him to be her escort at a wedding.
‘Dan taking Shauna out of the country, I think that would be great. I think she would have a good time,’ her stepfather said.
“I’m not so sure about that,” her mother chimed in.
Shauna called them both “blatant liars”, insisting that they would never let her leave the country with him.
The visit ended when Dan visited her while she was waitressing at a charity event. They shared an awkward slow dance before he left.
“I’m sure I’ll see Dan again,” she told the camera. He’s coming back.