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Dating While Disabled: How Mainstream App Discrimination Led to Building Dateability with Jacqueline and Alexa Child

"I got it out of him that he told his mom about me, and she told him to run as fast as he can and never be with someone who has complex medical issues."

In this episode of Grief'd Up, host Rebecca Feinglos welcomes sisters Jacqueline and Alexa Child, founders of Dateability, the only dating app for disabled and chronically ill people. The sisters share their personal journey with chronic illness and how it inspired them to create a space where the world's largest minority can find connection without fear of rejection.

Jacqueline became disabled at 14 when mono triggered multiple autoimmune conditions, including dysautonomia, gastroparesis, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. She opens up about grieving her former athletic identity, from quitting soccer to losing her hair overnight. The conversation explores her dating experiences on mainstream apps, where disclosure of disability often led to discrimination and painful rejection. At 27, facing the decision to get a feeding tube, Jacqueline had to navigate yet another layer of grief while learning to live fully with chronic illness.

Alexa shares her perspective as the "healthy sister" and how witnessing Jacqueline's dating struggles during the pandemic motivated them to create Dateability. Together, the sisters and Rebecca explore the challenges of dating with invisible disabilities, Glass Child syndrome, and how upfront disclosure can prevent the kind of rejection that can lead to grief. They discuss marriage equality issues for disabled people and envision a future where disability is seen not as a burden, but as part of human diversity.

Join Rebecca as she chats with Jacqueline and Alexa about the realities of dating while disabled, the discrimination faced on mainstream apps, and how creating Dateability became both a business solution and a way to process their own grief around acceptance and belonging.

 

Connect with Jacqueline and Alexa Child:

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