Lucy Devine
A woman says men refuse to date her - all because she's on benefits.
Lynn McDermott, 48, from Southampton, says men have even called her a 'parasite' after finding out that she doesn't work.
The mum says she's often dismissed by potential matches on dating websites, but explains she claims benefits legitimately.
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“I get Universal Credit, disability allowance, and ESA [employment allowance] - I get the full whack because of my disability. But it’s not much," she says.
“One guy told me I was a parasite. He said, 'You can walk and talk, why can’t you work?'.
“I'm not looking for any kind of handout in any way, I'm looking for love and that’s all I want. I just want to be loved and to love someone else.”
Lynn says she regularly receives hundreds of messages from potential dates, but once they find out about her income, they either stop responding or totally change their attitude.
Lynn has a number of health conditions and was diagnosed with endocarditis, undergoing a valve replacement on Boxing Day in 2017.
The mum was then in a coma for six months from December 2017 to June 2018, before having to go back into hospital a month later due to immunology problems.
She was later diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and was found to be immunocompromised – meaning her body was unable to fight off infections and diseases.
As a result, Lynn receives Universal Credit, PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) which totals around £21,000 per year.
“My disability is that I’ve got heart failure but you'd never know it to look at me," she says.
“I’m put down as disabled and unable to work because of my disability – but no one would know this because I don’t have a leg chopped off or anything and I just carry on with my life.
"I had a PIP assessment and the paperwork with me with the issues I have - the heart failure and everything will not get better.
“I get loads of replies. I last went on Plenty of Fish six weeks ago and had 354 replies from people – they obviously like the look but they just don’t appreciate that I’m disabled and on benefits."
Lynn explained one man she recently dated asked her about her finances on their second date.
"I said, ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’. He said he didn’t want someone sucking all his money away because he was loaded.
“The pound signs should not be about anything, it should be about what the person is like on the inside, not a disability or that they’re ‘sucking the life out of Britain’.
“I can still go out for dinners, drive, everything – financially I just cut my costs to whatever I’m going through.
“If people want to judge me without knowing me, that’s their failure.”