BEARDED WOMAN CONSIDERS SHAVING HER FACE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS

A happily-married bearded woman is debating shaving her facial hair for her belated wedding photos, as she and her husband prepare to celebrate their five-year anniversary on tonight's episode of the TLC reality series Strange Love. 

When she was 13-years-old Annalisa Hackleman, from Sunnyvale, California, was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonal condition that causes an increase in hair grown on her face and body. While her husband supported her decision to grow out her beard after years of shaving, Annalisa is unsure about flaunting her facial hair in their anniversary photos.

'David is super supportive and accepting of my facial hair. I don't think he loves my facial hair, but he loves me and that's all that matters,' she says in the episode, according to People. 

But despite insisting she is sure of her husband's unwavering devotion to her, this evening's episode of the popular reality series will see Annalisa questioning whether she really wants to keep her facial hair – or whether she should save it off in order to improve the appearance of the couple's photos.

Several years ago, Annalisa revealed to online magazine Beardspo.com that, as a child, she had been incredibly confused about why people felt she should be ashamed of her facial hair - but admitted that, as time went on, their cruel comments and jibes left her feeling terrible about herself. 

'I didn’t see why it mattered that I had darker hair on my face,' she explained. 

'At the time it was still peach fuzz looking. After being hounded about it, I became self conscious. My mother decided I needed laser hair removal which ultimately didn’t work and began shaving my face to look "normal".'

She added: 'About three years ago, I was at the point of shaving my beard twice a day... It was a never ending battle. I formed agoraphobia (unable to leave my house) and would feel anxiety trying to plan outings or go anywhere. When I did leave the house after much stress, crying and worry I found the anxiety wouldn’t calm down. 

'Thankfully my husband helped to get me out of my haze and demanded something be done as it was ruining our life together.'

It was then that Annalisa began growing out her beard and embracing her facial hair once and for all - and ironically, at the time of the interview, she confessed that she didn't 'know if I'll ever remove my beard again', adding that it made her 'feel free, confident and more womanly' than she had felt in years.  

The upcoming episode also features Nathan Hurd, a black albino comedian, who is looking for love in Los Angeles.

The 36-year-old, who has albinism, an inherited condition characterized by little or no pigment in the eyes skin or hair, says he is looking for someone that he can have a conversation with now that he is getting older.   

'I've liked girls a whole lot, but I don't think I've ever been in love,' he explains in a clip from the episode. 

Growing up, he would get teased a lot because of his condition.

Nathan got into comedy because 'making people laugh was a way of diffusing the issue'.

Laughter is the best medicine. Everybody knows that,' he says.

His albinism also causes him severe problems with his vision.  

Nathan is legally blind and has nystagmus, a condition that causes his eyes to move back and forth as they try to find a focal point. Because of his vision problems, he uses a magnifying glass to read.

'I am more self-conscious in the dating world,' he says. 'Back in the day, when I was going on dates I didn't have the magnifying glass - or I didn't want to bring it out.'

'The couple of girlfriends I had in high school didn't start dating me because I was a black albino,' he says, before adding: 'I don't really flirt with girls because I don't know if I am flirting or they just think that I got crazy eyes.' 

On tonight's episode, Nathan is joined by his friend Colton as he goes shopping for a monocle to replace his magnifying glass as he gets ready to start searching for the love of his life. 

culled from 'Dailymail.co.uk'