Stephanie Wenger
Updated ·4 min read
Dan Swygart admitted he and the I Am Shauna Rae star got "very, very close on an emotional level" but denies that the relationship ever got physical
Dan Swygart is opening up about the connection he shared with TLC star, Shauna Rae.
On the latest episode of The Sarah Fraser Show podcast, Swygart revealed he and the I Am Shauna Rae lead never took their relationship to the next level.
"We got very, very close on an emotional level," he admitted. "I mean, it never really got physical, we kissed once. Of course, I wasn't there for long periods of time ... So it never really progressed into a relationship."
Swygart, who is from Europe, revealed that he and Shauna — a 23-year-old who has the body of an 8-year-old due to pituitary dwarfism — were judged, both in real life and on the internet, after their connection was documented on season 2 of TLC series.
Related:Shauna Rae's Romantic Interest Dan Swygart Gives the Latest Status Update on Their Relationship
"We went to a bar together with some of my friends, some of her friends and her sister, and there was a restaurant. We were eating in the restaurant, then we went to a dance floor, there was a bouncer at the dance floor," he recalled. "He lets us all in but he stops Shauna and she's showing him her ID, and he's like, 'No, this can't be true, no, no, no, wait, no way,' and then the crazy thing was, in the corner a TV was playing and it was her show."
"People were taking their phones out, taking videos of her, so I had to go up to them and tell them to leave," he added. "People came up to me and they were like, 'Um, is it not past her bedtime?' This is just one evening and it's just constant."
Swygart added that the criticism of the pair's connection was especially difficult for him as some people assumed he was inappropriately attracted to Shauna because of her 3'11" stature.
"With that just came this big, huge amount of hate, and I felt like the world was crushing me because obviously the media and people, YouTubers as well, they categorized me in the most hated group of people on the planet," he explained. "Obviously, because of Shauna's condition ... they put me in that category. I just felt like that world was crushing me."
However, he was grateful for the support he received after sharing Instagram videos denouncing those who find Shauna undeserving of love because of her physical appearance.
"I basically lost my faith in humanity, did these videos, and then a huge amount of love and support came and I'm so thankful to the world," he said. "Because that's the lowest I've ever been in my life, with the world sort of crushing me like that, the world sort of saved [me], I had a huge amount of support."
He added: "They started attacking all the negative comments, and people started deleting the negative comments and, yeah, the rainy clouds disappeared and the sun started shining and now it's all fine."
Recently, Shauna has been candid about the challenges she faces on a daily basis, sharing posts on social media about the treatment she often receives at restaurants and why the catchphrase about her being a woman "stuck in an 8-year-old body" is incorrect.
In one post, Shauna Rae explained the importance of raising awareness for pituitary dwarfism.
"This is something that happens to me very often, and use to be an every time I went out occurrence," she wrote after sharing a story about treated like a toddler while dining out. "I'm hoping that by raising awareness for my type of dwarfism and disability, that it will help the world and us as humans be more open minded when it comes to the variety of people we have in our world."
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"Everyone deserves to be treated the same no matter their difference ❤️" she shared.
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