In an episode CNN’s webseries LoveStory, titled Love Accessibly – we follow Kristen as she looks for love in New York City as a woman in a wheelchair.
With her sense of humor and candid vulnerability – she describes the trials and tribulations of a disabled 30-something looking for love in a big city.
“I had a boyfriend on-and-off [for a few years]…who would never admit that we were actually together It made you feel like some reason why I was not deserving of having a boyfriend who was proud to be with me.”
Able-bodied or not, we can all relate to the struggles of looking for love – and we all know that sometimes it takes a lot of kissing toads to find our prince/princess!
And while Kristen’s disability comes from a car accident when she was 5 – and not a rare disease – it is something many – if not all! – who suffer from a rare disease has to contend with: Dealing with the real world.
The world doesn’t stop spinning just because of our disease.
But Kristen channels all our indomitable spirits – and speaks freely about what it’s like to put yourself out there. She talks about how, when she volunteers a picture of her in her wheelchair on a dating app, she gets passed over, asked intrusive questions, or objectified.
She also discusses the difficulty of navigating the city in a wheelchair, and points out
“Most people’s issues, you get to hide for a really long time. That’s not fair. Mine is out there– I can’t pretend it’s not there. I try! I can’t. So you need to go into it with that mindset that whoever you date is going to have an issue. This is just one of them.”
Yikes! It’s a jungle out there, but fret not – in the episode, we get to follow Kristen on an actual date (doing very New Yorky things, I might add!).
How did it go? Click here to watch the 6-minute episode!
