The I Am Shauna Rae star reassured fans that she is "medically" fine when asked if her "abnormally large" eyes were due to her pituitary dwarfism diagnosis
Shauna Rae is setting the record straight about her "big, bright eyes."
On Thursday, the I Am Shauna Rae star, 23, responded to a fan question asking if her "abnormally large" eyes were due to pituitary dwarfism, the condition that keeps her under 4 feet tall.
"A discussion about my eyes being abnormally large has never come up," she explained in the TikTok video, which was also shared to her Instagram page. "They didn't ever like, grow as a kid, if you're being serious. Like, did they grow? No."
"This is a picture of me as a baby," she said as she showed a photo of herself as a toddler wearing a red dress with white lace.
She went on to share that she has always had the distinctive characteristic, saying, "Obviously, really big eyes, even still have the bags. So the big eyes, the bags, they've kind of always been here."
The reality star — who had a form of cancer as a young child — added that the look of her eyes "could totally be due to the effects of cancer and chemotherapy. Maybe my eyes are a little more sunken into my head and that's why they look so large."
However, she believes that her appearance is mostly likely due to genetics and not any medical condition.
"I honestly think my enlarged eyes are due to genetics, just like some people genetically have larger lips or larger noses or higher cheekbones or a defined jawline or defined brow line or larger forehead or a hairline," she explained. "I think it's genetics."
"But I think that it's always been the same, they've never grown so medically, it's actually never been an issue," she added. "And I've always just had big bright eyes. Thank you for the compliment, but medically I'm fine."
She reiterated the point in the post caption, writing, "Another Q&A from Tiktok. This one I wasn't expecting and honestly it could be a residual affect from cancer and chemo, it's probably just genetics though ❤️👀🤣"
Last month, Shauna Rae corrected an Instagram commenter who referred to her as a woman "stuck in an 8-year-old body" — something that's been taglined alongside her TLC show. She shared a video explaining why she doesn't identify with the phrasing.
"I know that 'the woman stuck in the body of an 8-year-old' is the catchphrase that's attached to me, but I don't personally connect with it. I think it's actually very inaccurate," she said. "I am not stuck in the body of an 8-year-old. I am a 23-year-old woman whose body is 23 years old."
She continued: '"It's matured. It's gone through puberty. I've grown in areas that 8-year-olds don't until they've hit puberty, which is later in life."
Shauna Rae concluded the segment, "I am just a shorter statured woman, and my body is at the average height of an 8-year-old."
In the caption, she expanded further on the thought. "Definitely going to get some more out there but I think this one is super important because it gives y'all insight on to how I actually view myself no matter what verbiage that's attached with pituitary dwarfism. I do believe that if you genuinely take the time you'll notice that I'm no different just short."
Shauna Rae has also spoken candidly about the challenges she faces on a daily basis due to the effects of her pituitary dwarfism, like the treatment she often receives at restaurants.
"So, getting things like kids' menus, kids' cups, crayons at restaurants is common," she admitted in a video on March 30. "It's less common, I've noticed, when I'm out with my friends — very common when I'm out with older sisters or my family in general ... I think if they see you in a family environment, they see a short-statured person, they just immediately think 'child' but it happens all the time."
In that post, which detailed a time Shauna Rae was treated like a toddler and taught how to use a credit card while paying for her meal, the reality star 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. "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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I Am Shauna Rae is available to stream on discovery+.
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