I'm a 6ft 2in woman and I thought I'd never find love until I met my short king - don't care what people think of our height difference
A 6ft 2in woman has set out to prove that size doesn't matter after revealing she's found love with a 'short king'.
Model Marie Temara, 28, once swore off shorter men and even said dating was 'impossible' after failing to meet a partner her height in her native Florida.
After documenting her dating struggles on Instagram, she recently updated fans with the news that she had found a beau on Tinder, a man named Matthew, who is 5'11" and weighs 70lbs less than her.
Marie - who said her height attracts staring from strangers - now hopes to inspire other tall women to 'pursue short men' and to follow their hearts instead of societal norms.
She explained: 'For the majority of my dating life, I would always try to find a partner that was taller than me, as that is the social norm.
'However, finding a partner over 6'2" was extremely difficult, because only a small amount of men are taller than that.
'So, I recently decided to break the standards of society and started seeking out shorter men'.
Marie met her now boyfriend, Matthew, 27, when the two hit it off on dating app, Tinder.
She admitted to initially feeling 'insecure' about the 'massive height difference' but over time has come to embrace it.
'I was unaware of his height until I saw him on our first date,' she said.
'Although he is tall to most people, he is quite a bit shorter and weighs 70lbs less than me.
'Originally, I felt a little insecure dating him because I was worried about what other people would think of our massive height and size difference'.
For Marie however, loving Matthew hasn't come easy as she said she's had to ditch her high heels when out with him in public.
She said: 'It is also very different dating someone shorter and smaller than me, because I can't fit in his sweatshirts when I get cold, wear heels without towering over him, and he is not strong enough to lift me up, so I'm the one who lifts him up'.
The content creator - who boasts 1.9 million followers on Instagram - said shorter men tend to have better personalities than taller ones because they don't rely on their height to attract women.
'So I actually prefer dating short kings now,' she said.
'But I am open to dating at any height, because height is something we cannot change about ourselves, and we're all the same height laying down anyways.
'I typically stand out anywhere I go. I can't go anywhere without someone making a comment about my height or asking me if I play basketball.
'People always stare at me when I walk into a room and look me up and down.
'When I travel to different countries, people often ask me to take a picture with them because "they have never seen such a big girl before"'.
Marie now hopes to break the stigma that men should always be the taller ones in the relationship.
She added: 'I have learned to stop caring about what other people think and embrace our unconventional relationship.
'I want to inspire other tall girls to also pursue shorter men because height shouldn't matter in a relationship.
'My mother (6'5") is taller than my father (6'3") and they have been happily married for 35 years.
'My mother gave the short king a chance and made one big giant happy family!'
Taking to Instagram (@marietemara), Marie shared the good news, with her video amassing over 9.6m views.
In the clip shared to social media, Marie showed what it was like sleeping in a bed with a 'short king'.
In the video, she can be seen hugging Matthew from behind, before rolling him over herself to switch sides of the bed.
The post was captioned: "POV: Moving my short king away from his side of the bed," and has gained 132,000 likes, as well as 3,000 comments from fans'.
Many of Marie's fans showed their support for her relationship, including one viewer who wrote: 'I want to be the little spoon next'.
Another asked: Why do girls choose tall guys, why can't we choose tall girls."
'Me next' said one.
Dudes living my dream' added another.
Someone else said: 'It should be me not him'.