I’m trolled for having a disabled husband – people say he can’t satisfy me romantically but we’re trying for a baby
AN ‘interabled’ couple have revealed some of the criticism they face from online trolls.
The pair, who have been married for four years, are constantly inundated with rude remarks from strangers.
Hannah, 28, and Shane Burcaw 32, have documented their relationship through YouTube, Instagram, and podcasts.
They met in when Hannah reached out to Shane online after seeing his content, including candid posts about his spinal muscular atrophy.
After dating for four years, they went onto get married in 2020.
Unfortunately, the pair are no strangers to hateful comments, with people assuming Hannah is a “gold-digger” since they went public with their relationship.
Constant trolling
Someone branded the couple “abnormal and frankly disgusting” while another disgustingly suggested Hannah must have a “fetish” for disabled men to choose Shane.
“Every time I come across their videos I just really wonder if she really loves the fella or simple feels bad for him. Maybe it’s the pot of gold at the finish line?” Someone wrote on Instagram.
Others fail to believe Hannah is satisfied with Shane as a husband and suggest she’s “cheating with Timmy with a 6ft tall, blonde hair, blue eye, muscular man”.
Speaking about their relationship, Hannah said: “Often people will assume that I’m Shane’s sister or mom.
“We definitely get a lot of comments from straight men thinking that it’s not fair that I’m with Shane and that I should be with them.
“People say that I couldn’t possibly be satisfied, we get that every day.”
Shane revealed that due to his condition, men often assume that he can’t have sex, but this is not the case.
He said: “They perceive that I can’t have sex in their very limited, missionary man f—s woman. They think that is the be-all and end-all of sex.
“Little do they know …”
“Our intimacy benefits from my disability and our intimacy is not just me enjoying it.
“It doesn’t look like what you see in the movies but I can totally do it.”
He added: “We are romantic.
“When we are in bed together, I can ask her, ‘Will you roll me towards you?’ or ‘Can you move my arm so I can reach your neck or cheek?’ ”
Hannah explained: “In general Shane uses his voice in ways that other people might just physically do something.”
She went onto reveal how Shane asks her to move him into specific positions, and that they also have a secret language for these kinds of requests.
She added: “We have shorthand for all of these things — he doesn’t say ‘Can you move my legs under your legs?,’ we just know.
“I feel like I know his body and preferences as well as I know my own.”
“The best part about our relationship is that we have comfort with each other.”
The couple went viral recently with a video that surpassed 20 million views.
Viral video
However, Shane said that “ignorant” and “humiliating” comments ruined the milestone moment for the content creators.
The clip in question was part of a viral trend which saw creators sharing sporting fail moments of themselves with the caption: “Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the Olympics.”
From belly flops off diving boards to painfully slow sport’s day races, the online trend was intended in good humour.
Even USA gymnast and two-time Olympian Suni Lee participated after suffering a fall in the beam final.
The couple went viral recently with a video that surpassed 20 million views.
In Shane’s video, he joked that he didn’t qualify for the diving team as he shared a clip of Hannah slowly lowering him into a pool.
“This kind of self-deprecating humor is right up our alley, so we joined the trend,” he explained in an Instagram post.
He added that the clip “fits the trend perfectly” but revealed how online trolls took the joke too far.
One of the top comments with nearly 200k likes was “It’s always important to wash your vegetables.”
Other online trolls used the opportunity to directly insulate the couple’s relationship.
“I still struggle to see that they are in a relationship,” wrote another person, who received 79,000 likes.
Someone else said Hannah being in a relationship with Shane was like “doing charity work”.
What is spinal muscular atrophy?
The NHS described spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) as “a genetic condition that makes the muscles weaker and causes problems with movement.”
According to the medical professionals, the condition gets worse over time.
Symptoms can include: weak arms and legs, movement problems, twitching muscles, bone and joint problems, swallowing problems, and breathing difficulties.
It’s been years of hateful comments, online trolling and abuse for the couple. But they refuse to stop sharing their content.
As well as sharing skits and disability awareness, the couple have been open about their struggles to conceive.
Baby struggles
They described themselves as “begrudging, defeated, tired” members of the infertility community, sharing a glimpse into their IVF journey.
From the beginning, Shane has been upfront that his low sperm count which has been exacerbated by a medication he takes for SMA.
“We got his sperm tested about a year ago and found out it was abysmal,” Hannah said in a YouTube video from April 2023.
Shane interjected: “‘Excuse me, my sperm is not abysmal… my sperm is non-existent.”
With slim chances, the couple did try to get embryos made, sadly, none of them took.
Hannah said: “Two days later, we get a call. Unfortunately, they both fizzled out.”
But the two maintained a typically glass-half-full outlook on disappointment and remark: “Together, we have made cells. Isn’t that cool?”
“In a way, we’re already parents!” He joked back.