“I’ve actually had better dating experiences as soon as I accepted myself, versus when I was hiding myself,” said Leah Jorgensen.
This woman is embracing herself for who she is — excessive body hair and all.
Leah Jorgensen, 33, of Madison, Wis., has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that emerges in some women. For Jorgensen, the PCOS causes her to grow hair on her chest, her back and her face, a condition known as hirsutism.
“Where doesn’t it grow?” Jorgensen told InsideEdition.com. "It grows on my face, my chest, my stomach, my back, my arms, my legs, my toes. Pretty much everywhere."
Jorgensen explained she grew up extremely embarrassed of the male-pattern hair growth.
"I was bullied mostly in junior high school and it was when my hair really had just started to come in — it started on my face," Jorgensen explained. "I was too scared to tell the teacher what they were saying about me because then the teacher would have to know I had this hair that I was ashamed of and embarrassed by so I just kept it all inside."
She explained she shaved multiple times a day and was so embarrassed that she couldn't talk about the problem with her mom or a doctor.
About two years ago, Jorgensen said her outlook changed after she was hit by a car.
"My leg was really badly injured […] the paramedics came and they had to cut my clothes off to address my injuries," she recalled. "I’ve been avoiding anyone seeing me for years and years and years, but they treated me like I was just a person. They didn’t make me feel like I was a freak or strange or unusual and that helped me get over this huge [burden]."
She ditched the razor and began embracing clothing that revealed her body hair. She even donned a bikini last summer and posted a photo of her in the swimwear to Instagram.
Since then, Jorgensen said she is much happier with who she is.
"I’ve actually had better dating experiences as soon as I accepted myself, versus when I was hiding myself,” Jorgensen said. “There are people out there that are attracted to all kinds of people and bodies and personality and there’s definitely someone out there for everyone."
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