A woman who was approached to appear on The Undateables after sharing a selfie with her birthmark online says she turned down the offer in shock. Lexxie Harford, 30, recalled the moment she realised her picture had gone viral worldwide and began receiving "so many emails" from random men asking to date and sleep with her.
Within a week, she was asked to go on dating shows Too Ugly For Love and The Undateables - to which she declined. Lexxie, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, said: "I think they both try to hide what they actually are but really it was just about saying 'these people are ugly in our eyes'."
Lexxie originally posted a picture of her birthmark on website Imgur in 2015 and didn't realise it was public until it racked up enormous attention.
The selfie was liked more than 100,000 times and Lexxie was contacted by an American reporter who asked to write an article about her.
"I agreed it would raise awareness, and then off the back of that loads of people reached out to me - it went viral before going viral was really a thing," Lexxie said.
"For someone who might be more sensitive, I can only imagine what it might have done to them.
"Some people were saying 'I love how you look' and other people were saying, 'So you want to be on Too Ugly For Love?'
"I got so many emails from men. One guy said he was married but wanted to be 'more than friends' and another offered to build me a house.
"I remember thinking, 'This is bananas'. So many people reached out to me saying, 'I have this too and I'm not going to wear makeup now.'
The hit Channel 4 dating show then got in touch, and a makeup campaign invited her to promote skincare and celebrate people's differences.
Eight years on, Lexxie says she has conflicting feelings about going viral, but is glad for the most part.
"I've always been okay with how my face looks. I'm not self-conscious of my face, but I've had a lot of people reach out to me who have found confidence because of the story going viral," she said.
"I think it's a really good thing and it was where I saw the change start. I don't mind it being part of my identity, wish I knew a better way to continue to raise awareness."
Have you been asked to go on The Undateables? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
