Texas woman, 39, with world record 13-INCH feet turns to social media to find size 18 footwear

By William On Nov 18, 2022

A Texas woman with a world record of 13-inch feet took to social media to find rare size 48 shoes — only to receive a deluge of creepy messages from foot fetishists.

Tanya Herbert, 39, of Houston, has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as having the largest feet of any woman in the world, with her right foot measuring 13.03 inches and her left measuring 12.79 inches.

For years she has had such a hard time finding size 18 women’s shoes that she would wear men’s shoes.

Tanya turned to social media and she was able to connect with other women with big feet who gave her advice on how to make her own shoes.

“I would buy some of the biggest shoes I could find online and manipulate them to stretch them a little longer and make them a little wider to fit my feet,” Tanya told the Guinness World Records.

But Tanya said she received a deluge of messages from men wanting her to send them photos of her feet for money.

For years, Tanya found it so hard to find size 18 women’s shoes that she started wearing men’s shoes

“I never got on social media to be an object of affection or anything like that, or to get into the foot fetish world.”

She added, “Five percent of the men who follow me are the ones who send weird and interesting comments to my inbox asking me to sell them pictures of my feet.”

Tanya is also 6 feet 10 inches tall – just four inches shorter than the tallest living woman Rumeysa Gelgi, from Turkey, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall.

Tanya has always been much taller and had much bigger feet than her peers, and by high school her feet had reached the record size they are today.

Tanya said, “Growing up I was always the tallest one around. My mom was 6 ft 5 in and my dad is 6 ft 4 in so it was inevitable that I would grow tall.

“My parents supported me growing up, so I didn’t think being tall was a bad thing.

“I never remember being bullied or anything like that because of my height, and my friends made sure I was loved and liked.

“As I got older, I bought some of the largest shoes I could find online and lengthened them and made them wider to fit my feet.”

She added, “The hardest part of having big feet is finding shoes that fit.

“I personally extend women’s shoes to fit my feet, or, if I shop in the men’s section, drop down to a size 46 or 17, depending on the brand.

“I can find some men’s shoes in that size online, but when they arrive I personalize them to make them look more feminine.”

Tanya went viral on TikTok early this year because of her big feet, and it was people’s reactions that encouraged her to go for the record.

So in April 2022 she contacted Guinness World Records, who came to measure her feet.

It wasn’t until October that Guinness verified her measurements and officially confirmed that she had broken the record – formerly held by Julie Felton, with US women’s size 4.5 meters.

Tanya hopes her track record can encourage shoe manufacturers to be more inclusive by offering a wider range of sizes, at a more affordable price point for women.

She said, “You can find men’s shoes that are my size, but trying to find women’s shoes is either impossible or extremely prohibitively expensive.

“Women with a size 12 or 13 have a hard time finding shoes, and I’m a size 48.

“Being a world record holder can open up opportunities that I may not have been given before.

‘I want to be a spark for the shoe industry!’