An Australian woman has opened up about the moment she realised having two vaginas wasn't the norm.
When Tee Bartlett was going through puberty, she thought it was normal to have to put two tampons in when she was menstruating.
She assumed every woman had two vaginal openings so she never really bothered to ask anyone about it.
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However, when she reached the age of 16, she finally asked her mum which hole she was meant to put the tampon in.
Her mother was understandably very confused and couldn't work out what the hell she was talking about.
The NSW high ropes instructor explained: "I didn't really communicate with mum about awkward topics back then.
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"One day, I was having a conversation with my best friend and mum, and I finally asked which hole a tampon was supposed to go in, the left or the right. Mum looked at me like 'what?'
"At first, she said that there wasn't two holes and we argued for a little bit, and I was being really defensive.
"She then suggested that we go to the doctor's. That's when I realised, she was being serious and that there really is not supposed to be two openings down there."
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However, Tee's experience with medical professionals didn't go as smoothly as she was hoping.
The now 24-year-old explained: "The two doctors disregarded everything that I was saying and made me feel crazy.
"The second doctor looked at it, then looked back at me and said, 'nah it's normal' and she sort of pushed us out the door.
"I left there somewhat flabbergasted. I was nuts thinking that I had two vaginas. I was starting to feel like I was going crazy. I was second guessing myself."
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It wasn't until she was referred to a gynaecologist from a third doctor when she got the news she had known all her life.
The specialist revealed she did indeed have two vaginal openings, which is called a longitudinal vaginal septum.
It's a condition that happens when the female reproductive system doesn't fully develop and creates a dividing wall of tissue in the vagina that's not visible externally.
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There's a wall of tissue that can run vertically or horizontally and that divides the vagina into two sections.
The gynaecologist explained that keeping the septum could make sex difficult in the future, so she decided to get it surgically removed.
"I did research and found out that you could get someone stuck inside you during sexual intercourse, as the hole is half the size as normal. It was freaking me out," she said.
"My boyfriend at the time is my boyfriend now and he was fine when I told him. He said that we would just deal with it when the time came.
"My wall was too thick to be snipped out and was as long as a finger going right up to just before my cervix. Apparently, the vaginal septum is normal for babies in the womb, but it's supposed to dissolve. Mine just never dissolved.
"Mine was a bit thicker and longer than normal, which is why I had to get surgery."
Featured Image Credit: CatersTopics: No-Article-Matching, Australia