“Our marriage is not fake”: Bride responds to online abuse
For many, weddings are supposed to be the happiest day of our lives.
However for one bride, her special moment with her husband was turned into a circus when she revealed her wedding photos to the world.
Hannah Aylward told her followers of the cruel insults she received after sharing news of her wedding to Shane Burcaw.
Hannah and Shane wed in a backyard ceremony on September 4, and took to Instagram to announce their happy news last week.
Shane has spinal muscular atrophy, and with his wife Hannah they boast more than 700,000 subscribers on their Youtube account, Squirmy and Grubs.
Spinal muscular atrophy is a genetic condition that affects the nerves that monitor muscle movement.
Muscles become weak and damaged before eventually wasting away.
When Hannah shared their wedding pictures, they had thousands of comments wishing them well.
Unfortunately, she also was forced to deal with cruel comments saying their wedding was “some kind of joke” and that it must have been “photoshopped”.
“But for real thought … does she also have another partner for having sex with?” one comment read.
“I’m saying this without any kind of apologies. I’m pretty sure that woman married him because if (sic) money and not for love,” another person claimed.
“Some of us women will do anything and everything for money, even if it means putting up a front, pretending just to get what they want. No not true love.”
In response Hannah took to Instagram to say that despite documenting their relationship on Youtube for years, they had still had to put up with people claiming it was fake.
“A few years ago, reading words like these was painful,” she said.
“For a while, I held onto the idea that once Shane and I were married, all the people doubting our relationship would realise it was real.”
Hannah went on to say that she was “not that naive” now.
She has learnt to ignore hurtful comments and instead focus on the positive impact sharing her relationship has had.
“Shane and I continue to make content and share our story with the hopes of showing as many people as we can that disabled people are worthy partners,” she said.
In an article for Today back in 2019, Shane said that many people assumed his then-girlfriend Hannah was his caregiver.
“This one feels quite obvious, but you’d be shocked by how often strangers assume that Hannah is my nurse, my mom, my sister or my babysitter,” he wrote.
“Hannah and I were once checking out at a liquor store when the cashier said to Hannah: ‘Does this big guy want a lollipop?’”
Shane said he and Hannah had a “satisfying intimate life” and their relationship was “not special”.
“As our YouTube channel has grown, hundreds, if not thousands of couples in similar situations have reached out to us,” he wrote.
“It turns out, people with disabilities are in fact still human, with emotional wants and needs like everyone else!”