A former Team GB athlete and taekwondo star has opened up about her struggles with bullying and how she had to put up with taunts and abuse from her peers at school.Jade Slavin, from County Durham, says her height has had a major impact on her life, including making it hard for her to find love.
But despite the cruel taunts, Jade - who is now a lettings negotiator and taekwondo coach - has learned to embrace her 6ft 4in stature.
Jade, 26, revealed how she was taunted at school, with cruel bullies calling her 'ugly' and 'freak'. Outside of the classroom was much of the same - she would even hear people making nasty remarks or taking photos of her while out shopping.
She said: "When I was at school, I hated being tall. I was bullied for my looks and I was painfully shy. The thing I struggled with the most was people's comments when I was out shopping.
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"I'd often hear and see people whispering about me or taking sly photos of me without me knowing which really knocked my confidence.
"I've been called ugly, a freak, and had people say: 'You're actually quite pretty for being so tall' which is kind of a backhanded compliment."
At the time, Jade longed to be shorter, but this all changed when she took up some part-time modelling work when she turned 16 to boost her body confidence.
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This continued to grow as she pursued taekwondo and was asked to represent Team GB aged 21, going on to win the Commonwealth Championships in Glasgow in 2014 as well as a number of other competitions.
Jade soon learned that her height contributed to her success within the sport and over the years this has helped her to develop a sense of pride about who she is and how she looks.
She added: "Since I joined Team GB, I was proud of who I am and representing my country.
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"I was proud to be tall as I would not have been where I was if I was not tall.
"It brought me a lot of success and now when people make comments in the street and think I can't hear them I just smile at them and it makes them feel a bit silly that I heard them.
"But most of the time people make nice comments and are amazed by my height."
Jade still does experience struggles in day-to-day life, particularly when it comes to finding clothes that fit.
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"Another struggle is dating as I like boys to be the same height or taller than me and there aren't many tall boys in my area," she explained.
But that's not to say Jade lets that get her down. Speaking about others who might feel insecure about their body shape or size, she says: "Don't ever let anyone bring you down. I spent so much time hating myself and would cry to my mum wishing I was 'normal'.
"But embrace being different. It has brought me so much success being tall which I would not have achieved if I was smaller.
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"Embrace who you are and don't let anybody dull your sparkle."
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/MDWfeaturesTopics: SPORT, UK News, Interesting