Little Bear Schwarz feared she would be single forever because of her beard. But when she posted on Facebook about her fears, a comment popped up and a man called Tobias Bradick, 45, asked her out.
Now, the pair have married in a Christian-Satanist ceremony to celebrate both their religions, near Little Bear’s home in Tacoma, Washington, USA.
The pair first met through an online polyamory group in 2014 but it wasn’t until the Facebook post in 2017 that they started to see each other as more than friends. Little Bear, 36, has polycystic ovary syndrome since she was 14 – a condition affecting fertility and often causing weight gain and excessive body hair, including on her face – and she was worried that she would never meet someone who would see beyond her beard.
Little Bear said: ‘I’d had relationships in the past, but they all fell apart, so I was feeling pretty low. ‘I was worried that I’d never
Quickly falling in love, a year later the couple were engaged and on February 24 this year they tied the knot in front of 40 friends and family at a special venue for ex-military personnel.
She continued: ‘Tobias is a Satanist whereas I am a Christian, which might sound like we are at odds with one another. ‘But really, we have the same ethical codes – we just express them through different means.’ And while they both remain polyamorous, they are also very much devoted to each other.
‘In the same way that you can love several of your children or friends, Tobias and I believe that you can be in love with multiple partners,’ said Little Bear. ‘But that doesn’t at all detract from the love I feel for him. Really, he’s the first man that I have felt totally comfortable with, who loves me for the person I am beard and all.’
Sprouting hairs on her chin, upper lip
But after meeting her ex-boyfriend in 2013 and moving from her home state of Florida to live with him in Seattle, Washington, she finally felt ready to let her hair facial hair grow – feeling her new environment would be more accepting.
0And she never looked back, celebrating her hairy face by entering a local competition for bearded ladies called Whiskerinas – which she won in 2014, and going on to join a sideshow called the Wreckless Freeks, which she toured with for nearly four years.
Sadly, though, as her career took off, her relationship with her ex-boyfriend floundered and, by early 2016, single once more, Little Bear, feared she would never have another significant relationship with a man.
She said: ‘For me, it’s difficult to find someone, as they have to be really confident and proud to be with me, because, inevitably, they will be known as the person who goes out with a bearded lady. ‘On the other hand, though, I’ve always been wary of people who fetishise my beard, as I want someone to like me for who I am – not just a specific feature.
‘So, I shot back at him and said, “If this is the question I think you are asking you have to actually say the words!” ‘It was so sweet and so like him – I wouldn’t have changed that proposal for the world.’