A woman who was born with no limbs has revealed how she overcame the odds to find love – and has built a huge following on social media after teaching herself to dance and create stunning makeup looks.
Briel Adams-Wheatley, 24, was born with Hanhart Syndrome – a rare condition that causes malformed limbs.
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she was adopted by a family in Utah, US, where she grew up with a mother who insisted she become independent – instilling in Briel the drive to become incredibly self-sufficient, despite her limitations.
Now, the influencer has built a following of four million followers on TikTok, where she shares clips of herself dancing, creating elaborate makeup looks, and insights into life with her husband, Adam.
In a YouTube video published on Shera, (@sherasocial ), a digital platform dedicated to empowering women, Briel spoke about her incredible journey – and how it started with her mother encouraging her to be independent.
Briel told Shera: “My adoptive mum knew that I was going to be independent and she was going to do anything and everything to make that possible.
“Looking back at it now, as an adult who is successful and independent, I have nothing but love and gratitude towards her for seeing the potential of what I possibly have in my future, if not more.
“One of the first things I needed to learn was to go up and down the stairs because we lived in a split-level home, which means those stairs everywhere you go.
“I needed to learn how to walk eventually, and so my brothers were skaters at the time and they had built their own little skate ramps in the backyard.
“I would have to walk up and down both to gain momentum and everything, and be able to catch myself if I had fallen down.
“I never saw myself with a disability – and it’s because of how persistent my mum was with making sure that I was independent.”
Eventually, this led to Briel even learning how to do things like dance and do her own makeup – the latter of which she started sharing online in tutorials in 2019.
Propping cosmetics and brushes up on a table, she mastered leaning down and utilising her neck, shoulders and mouth to perfect the blook.
Briel married husband Adam in June 2021 after meeting and instantly connecting.
She said: “I feel like I never found the perfect match or anything until I met my husband, just because so many guys are always curious of what it would be like to be with someone without arms and legs.
“A lot of my dates in the past were just guys taking me in cars to the park having a small chat or them trying to touch me in inappropriate ways.
“So I never had like a real true, authentic date until my husband came around and he’s like, ‘I want to take you to a coffee shop and play games’.”
Now, Adam features regularly on Briel’s social media page, even helping her create a more tailored set-up to film.
Briel added: “When I started dating my husband, he bought me an IKEA desk and chopped the legs down to my height so that I would be able to do my makeup, and he bought me like a vanity light and some other makeup products.”
When the influencer came out as trans earlier this year, her partner was equally supportive.
She added: “It’s been so nice and so fresh to finally be myself and be free, and not feel like I’m hiding or denying my true, authentic self.”
