Devon Taverner-Hailou had been speaking to a man for around a year on a dating app before finally deciding to meet him.
Understandably the journalism and business student was looking forward to the first date.
But, as the pair walked through a park, talking a laughing, things took a turn for the worse.
Devon, 20, thought things were going great until he said: "You're so beautiful, it's such a shame."
This was before he made an excuse to pop to the loo - and he never came back, leaving her lost in the park.
Devon told The Mirror : "He sent me a message saying 'Your leg is too weird. It's a turn off. Don't contact me ever again'.
"I just started crying.
"I asked if he could at least come back to help me find my way, but he said, 'No, I don't want anything to do with you.' Then he blocked me. I was traumatised."
Sadly it wasn't the first time Devon had encountered a situation like this.
She has a rare condition called Proximal Focal Femoral Deficiency (PFFD), which means she was born without a thigh bone.
Devon, who was also born profoundly deaf, continued: "The lower part of my left leg is attached to the hip.
"So it means the leg is a lot smaller and I have to wear a prosthetic leg."
It's been a struggle for the young student to both date and socialise and such recent events have left her with anxiety.
"I'm quite self-conscious about my leg and the way I talk", she said.
"After a few bad experiences I just stopped wanting to date and I became depressed."
But, together with her mum, Joanna, she decided to go on BBC Three series 21 Again - and Devon says the TV show has transformed her life.
The show, currently airing on BBC Three, watches five mums immersed in their daughters' worlds.
They get a glam makeover and get a glimpse of what young life is like through looking at issues such as body image, dating, social media, gender and sexual fluidity and activism.
Devon, who lives with mum Joanna, stepdad Fivos and seven-year-old sister Drew in Epping, Essex, says the show has given her a newfound confidence.
"All the mums and daughters lived together for a month and for the first time I met girls who all really accepted me," said Devon.
"It made me feel confident about myself and pulled me out of a bad period in my life."
Joanna Taverner-Averkiou, 41, a choreographer and dancer, also thought the show would give them a great chance to bond.
"I was a single mum with Devon for a decade before I met my husband. It was always just us and we're really close," she added.
"But Devon had become quite angry recently and we were arguing.
"I thought this isn't how she normally acts. She'd had all these terrible dating experiences.
"Throughout college she has been victimised and left very isolated. It was a nightmare."
Devon added: "A few of us had to have a group photo taken in my last year at college.
"The others posted it on Instagram but they intentionally cropped me out. They said, 'She'll ruin the picture'."
"They said, 'We prefer the picture without the freak in it'," adds Joanna, who was horrified.
"Devon struggles to talk to people and she sometimes has to use a mobility scooter because she can't walk a long way.
"But she's still striving to be successful. She doesn't deserve that."
Devon also recalled a time when a date picked her up in his car.
She said: "He knew about my prosthetic leg but when he saw the way I walked he told me to get out of the car.
"Every time I dated it was always exactly the same story.
"In the end it got too much and I just refused to meet people."
Following her time at college, Devon was looking forward to go to university so she could make some new friends and be more independant.
"All of my friends had gone to uni and had the most amazing time", said Devon.
"But I felt stuck and isolated."
Joanna added: "She came home every week upset. Her mental health wasn't good. Since we filmed 21 Again, she hasn't gone back.
"The show made her realise there are people out there who accept her. It just wasn't worth it."
As part of the show, Joanna gets a makeover, has a go on Tinder and takes a few saucy selfies on Instagram to see if she can blag being 21.
The duo even go on a double date together.
"The date was OK, but on Tinder I was shocked at how crude and forward guys are from the get-go," added Joanna.
"It did worry me. So many girls have anxiety and how much does social media play a part?"
But Joanna did get quite emotional when she saw Devon bond with the other girls.
They wanted her to join them in the house, instead of her having to remove her prosthetic leg in private and stay on her own.
"That was a big moment for me as a mum," she continued.
"Devon always used to be confident.
"She used to watch me teach dancing and get involved.
"But when she became a teenager she started feeling more self-conscious and stopped dancing."
When Devon was eight years old, the Mirror told how she wanted to follow in her mum's dancing footsteps.
She is now set to return to that ambition and has been asked to audition at Candoco Dance Company, a contemporary dance company of disabled and non-disabled dancers.
There are some emotional moments in the show when Joanna tells Devon she will be meeting another girl with PFFD - make-up artist Yasmin Senior.
This marks the first time she has met someone who has the same condition as her.
Crying and hugging her mum, Devon says: "I always felt like I was the only one in the whole world."
Yasmin told Devon: "It's 2019, people have disabilities, people are unique and shouldn't be judged or labelled for it."
"Meeting Yasmin was amazing", added Devon.
"It was like meeting a long lost sister. We could talk about stuff that only me and her understand."
One thing Yasmin tells Devon to consider is an operation she had as a child to amputate her foot so that she can wear a prosthetic leg that bends at the knee.
"She kept telling me I need to do it", says Devon.
"She can walk really well.
"But it's more complicated for me as doctors don't know for sure if I'd be able to bend the leg.
"It's an unknown."
Joanna is now starting to raise funds to buy Devon a better prosthetic leg.
Funds will also be used to try and fly her to America to meet a top-level consultant who specialises in the condition.
"Devon has started to have really bad pain in her lower back and hip," said Joanna.
"She finds it hard to lie down and will probably need operations in the future."
Devon is not sold on the idea of surgery, but admits it will be worth it if doctors think it could make a big difference to her life.
"I've always wanted to be able to run - I've never run," continued Devon.
"If I didn't have PFFD I think I would have been quite sporty and I would have loved to do ballet.
"I'm also more shy because of my deafness.
"I just feel like I'd be a completely different person."
More recently Devon has started "coming out" on Instagram showing off her prosthetic leg, and in a particularly courageous part of the show, also poses on a huge city billboard.
She also dreams of releasing a magazine for young people with disabilities
"I feel much happier now," said Devon.
"My attitude has changed. Now I think, people can just take me as I am."
You can support Devon's fundraising cause at www.gofundme.com/help-devon-to-get-a-new-leg. 21 Again concludes on Wednesday 5 June, BBC Three, 10.35pm, or watch the whole series on BBC iPlayer.
