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Featured Image Credit: Instagram/danswygart
Topics: Sex and Relationships, News
Anish Vij
The parents of the British man who has been on dates with a woman 'trapped in eight-year-old's body' have insisted he is not a 'creep'.
Dan Swygart, 26, has been romantically linked to Shauna Rae, 23, who is three feet and 10 inches tall after the pair went on a series of dates on TLC reality show I Am Shauna Rae.
Shauna suffered from brain cancer when she was six months old and the treatment caused a stunt in her growth.
The treatment caused damage to her pituitary gland which caused her to develop pituitary dwarfism.
It resulting in her weighing just 50 pounds and standing at the average size of an eight-year-old.
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Living with her disability it has been difficult for Shauna to find love.
Dan has received backlash from social media after being romantically linked with Shauna, however, his parents claim that the pair are just 'friends'.
His mother Helen told MailOnline: "Daniel rang me and told me the story has gone everywhere.
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"They are just friends. There is no relationship. They are friends."
Father Steven, 60, added: "He has appeared in their show and that's the extent of it.
"That's it, it's as simple as that.
"He looks at her and thinks she is a tremendous person despite her disability, she's only small."
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The father insisted that it is 'extremely unlikely' that the pair were romantically together.
Dan also denied he was in a relationship with Shauna, posting on Instagram yesterday: "Me and Shauna are still just good friends getting to know each other, but I think it's absolutely disgusting the attitude of some people.
"She's been through so much in life. How dare you take away her human right to have a friendship, a relationship, a connection with someone else?"
He previously defended his actions and has called for people to stop 'de-humanising' the former cancer patient.
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“It's very important to remember that Shauna is an incredible 23-year-old woman who has a disability," he said.
“So as you are building a connection with her, it's important to acknowledge her disability and look past that and build it with who she is an individual.
“She's this incredible, inspiring 23-year-old woman who just happens to be a little bit short.”
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He explained: “The way me and Shauna met is I saw the first season of the show and I was really inspired by her emotional strength, so I sent her some flowers and a card that said, ‘Go live your best life, wishing you all the happiness you deserve.’”
Commenting on his video, one viewer wrote: “Well said Dan. I appreciate your coming into our lives.”
While another added: “Dan is nothing but a gentleman. I’m proud to call him a friend.”