YouTube stars Hannah Aylward and Shane Burcaw hit out at cruel 'fake' wedding claims

Shane, who has spinal muscular atrophy, and Hannah have more than 700,000 YouTube fans. Photo / Instagram

It's supposed to be one of the happiest moments your life — but one bride in the United States has revealed the cruel insults she was forced to put up after sharing news of her wedding.

Hannah Aylward married Shane Burcaw in a backyard ceremony on September 4, taking to Instagram to announce their happy news last week.

Shane, who has spinal muscular atrophy, and Hannah have more than 700,000 subscribers to their Youtube account, Squirmy and Grubs.

Spinal muscular atrophy is a genetic condition that affects the nerves that control muscle movement. Muscles become weak and damaged before eventually wasting away.

But among the thousands of comments wishing them well, Hannah had to deal with cruel comments saying their wedding was "some kind of joke" and even that it must have been "photoshopped".

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If the past two years of having a YouTube channel have taught me anything, it’s that you’re never going to be able to educate everyone. No matter what you do, some people will just never come around. Worrying about these people’s opinions is a waste of time, and as time has gone on, it’s become so much easier to genuinely have no internal reaction to comments like these. A few years ago, reading words like these was painful. For a while, I held onto the idea that once Shane and I were married, all the people doubting our relationship would realize it was real. Now, of course, I’m not that naive. Although it’s taken time, I’m able to completely dismiss people like this. Shane and I continue to make content and share our story with the hopes of showing as many people as we can that disabled people are worthy partners. Comments like these only encourage us to continue! We’re so grateful for all of the people that our story has managed to reach in a positive way.⁣ ⁣ Image description in the comments.

A post shared by Hannah Burcaw (@hannahayl) on Sep 11, 2020 at 3:41pm PDT

"But for real thought … does she also have another partner for having sex with?" one brutal comment read.

"I'm saying this without any kind of apologies. I'm pretty sure that woman married him because if (sic) money and not for love," another hurtful comment claimed.

"Some of us women will do anything and everything for money, even if it means putting up a front, pretending just to get what they want. No not true love."

In response, Hannah wrote on Instagram that despite documenting their relationship on Youtube for years they had still had to put up with people claiming it was fake.

"A few years ago, reading words like these was painful," she said.

"For a while, I held onto the idea that once Shane and I were married, all the people doubting our relationship would realise it was real."

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No one was less enthused about our wedding than Chloe. Her bandana? Creepy. Zoom meeting in the backyard? Creepy. Mommy and daddy all dressed up? Extremely creepy. She didn’t smile for the photo, but we love her anyway.⁣ ⁣ #accessibility [image description: Photo 1: Shane, Hannah, and Chloe in their backyard. Chloe (a big, white, fluffy dog) is facing towards Hannah and Shane, but is looking back at the camera. She has a white bandana around her neck. Hannah is in her wedding dress, and is kneeling down to pet Chloe and smiling at the camera. Shane is in his shirt and tie, laughing and looking at the camera. Photo 2: The same photo, but zoomed in on Chloe’s face, which looks very grumpy.]

A post shared by Hannah Burcaw (@hannahayl) on Sep 9, 2020 at 9:54am PDT

Hannah wrote that she was "not that naive" now and had instead learned to dismiss the hurtful claims made and focus on the positive impact sharing her relationship had.

"Shane and I continue to make content and share our story with the hopes of showing as many people as we can that disabled people are worthy partners," she said.

"Comments like these only encourage us to continue!"

Her post attracted hundreds of supportive comments from their followers, one of whom said they were "beyond sorry that you have to deal with this kind of disgusting commentary".

"You two are the definition of love and if these people don't see that than they don't know what love is," one person wrote, while another added: "I don't know what possesses people to spew such hate. Congratulations on getting married, I'm so happy for you both."

In a Youtube video addressing the cruel comments, the couple revealed they had a legally-binding ceremony.

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Today marks the 30th anniversary of the passing of the Americans With Disabilities Act! It was a monumental achievement for the disability community, but there is still a long way to go in making our society truly accessible. One of the most common reactions Shane and I get when we highlight inaccessibility in our videos is surprise. Many people who aren’t disabled or don’t have disabled people in their social circles assume that the ADA fixed everything, and are shocked to see how untrue that is. ⁣ ⁣ To commemorate the anniversary of the ADA, @braunability did a survey of their Driving Force (people with mobility disabilities and their caregivers) and of the general population. The results are similar to what we see in our comment sections: the general population is unaware of the need for increased accessibility. When asked if people with mobility disabilities are fairly accommodated in society, 75% of the Driving Force said no, while only 33% of the general population said no. Bringing accessibility issues to the attention of the general population is crucial, and we want to thank BraunAbility for amplifying disabled voices and fighting for improvements! You can check out the survey, or sign up for the driving force, at the link in Shane’s bio!⁣ ⁣ #Action3030 #BraunAbility #TheDrivingForce⁣ #ThankstotheADA #ADA30

A post shared by Hannah Burcaw (@hannahayl) on Jul 26, 2020 at 11:12am PDT

This was despite the risk that it could stop Shane from claiming government medical benefits in the future because of US laws.

The couple said they had been bombarded with people accusing them of not being able to get legally married because of Shane's disability.

According to Shane, the couple's inbox was "filled everyday with a dozen messages from mean people telling us that Hannah is only after my money or that she could never love anyone as disabled as me".

"Know our marriage is not fake, but there are a lot of really unfair things that disabled people have to take into account when they get married," Hannah said.

In an article for Today last year Shane wrote about how many people thought his then-girlfriend Hannah was his caregiver.

"This one feels quite obvious, but you'd be shocked by how often strangers assume that Hannah is my nurse, my mom, my sister or my babysitter," he wrote.

"Hannah and I were once checking out at a liquor store when the cashier said to Hannah: 'Does this big guy want a lollipop?'"

Shane said he and Hannah had a "satisfying intimate life" and their relationship was "not special".

"As our YouTube channel has grown, hundreds, if not thousands of couples in similar situations have reached out to us," he wrote.

"It turns out, people with disabilities are in fact still human, with emotional wants and needs like everyone else!"