'I Am Shauna Rae' Star Shares Her Backstory For People Who Keep Asking Her Age

Reality star Shauna Rae wants to help clear up any confusion on her size and age, so she recently took to social media to tell her story. 

While fans of her TLC show, “I Am Shauna Rae” might know the whole story by now, some of her newer fans and social media followers needed a little catch-up session.

On both TikTok and Instagram, Shauna Rae shared a video answering a follower question - “How old are you?” - with a backstory. 

“So, this is obviously the most common question that comes with my disability,” she began her video, in reference to being asked her age.

“And I’m not against answering questions about my disability as long as people approach them respectfully, then I will answer almost all your questions. I don’t think anything really should be taboo about disabilities in general. I feel like the more we talk about it, the more honest and open we are about it, the less likely people are to be disrespectful when they interact with someone with a disability.” 

She then answered the question about how old she is by saying she is 23, almost 24 years old. “I was born in June 1999, and the probably follow up question that comes with that is I was born with brain cancer. It was a malignant glioma on the right side of my brain and I went into immediate surgery around 6 months old,” she explained.

“Then I went to chemo for a couple of years. I do not know how long. And then around kindergarten they noticed that I was significantly shorter than the rest of my classmates and peers, so I went on and off growth hormones.”

She said the growth hormones were painful, and there weren’t many benefits to continuing them, so she went off of them for a period of time. “I went on a period blocker and a puberty blocker and a round of growth hormones again; body kind of still rejected them,” she said. “My puberty and period started anyway, and at 16, I fully went into puberty.”

She also explained that her bones were fusing at that point, and she was diagnosed with pituitary dwarfism, or human growth hormone deficiency dwarfism by an endocrinologist at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. 

“I’m hoping that with the ‘I Am Shauna Rae’ show and anything else via social media, I can bring awareness to this because I am not the only person with pituitary dwarfism. I am not the only human being out there that feels like they didn’t have many people like them feeling similar so I think it can help a lot of people,” she explained. “Just being open and honest about it is the best way to go about it.” 

Shauna Rae’s TikTok video received over 1 million views and many comments in less than a day. Her Instagram video got more than 14,000 likes and tons of comments.

“We just learned about your condition and ones like yours in nursing school. So glad you’re so open to discussing it,” one follower on TikTok wrote in the comments. Shauna Rae responded, “So happy it’s being talked about in medical schools. Family doctors growing up didn’t even know what I had.” 

Another TikTok follower added, “Honestly, I don’t see the disability. You seem like an intelligent, healthy, articulate, smart and funny young woman. Ur small but you have a huge heart.”

Comments on Instagram were similar with many people leaving supportive and uplifting thoughts. “Thank you for being so upfront about everything. I enjoyed your show on TV,” one follower said. Another added, “Love your spirit. Look forward to seeing you again soon on your show.” 

“I Am Shauna Rae” season two ended a few months ago and there’s no word yet on if there will be a season three. But fans have been able to keep up with her and her family’s life on social media. 

In February, Shauna Rae shared a video showing what it’s like to get a modified car so she can drive safely without any worry about her height. She called the experience a “life achievement.” 

She often shares videos and photos of her family on social media. Since they were a big part of "I Am Shauna Rae" many of her fans enjoy being able to keep up with what the family is doing while the show is not airing.