The needle buzzed, her mom Patty held her hand, and 22-year-old Shauna Rae walked out with fresh ink and a point to prove: she was no little girl playing dress-up. Three years after I Am Shauna Rae ended on October 1, 2023, those firsts remain the best map of who she became — 27 years old, 3-foot-10 after childhood brain cancer treatment. Here are her five biggest firsts, ranked from sweet to life-changing.
No. 5: The First Tattoo — Ink on Her Own Terms
Season 1 gave Shauna her first tattoo, with Patty holding her hand through it — a scene that said more about their bond than any confessional, in the season that introduced her to the world. She now has four tattoos, telling People she got them for personal reasons. It ranks last because a tattoo is a statement, not a door.
No. 4: The First Date — Axe Throwing and a Crashed Table
Her first televised date was a blind date in Season 1, and her date admitted he thought he was being punked before they went axe throwing. Season 2 upped the stakes: she dated Thomas, a volunteer firefighter who also has pituitary dwarfism — and Mark and Rylee showed up, which fans promptly called a crash. Dating on camera, with her family at the next table, took more nerve than the tattoo — and taught her the world would always judge her love life.
No. 3: The First Paycheck — Dogs, Drinks, and Her Own Label
Before any of the big milestones, there was the practical one: a job. In Season 1 she interviewed at a dog boarding facility — animals were always her thing — and clocked in for her first day. In Season 2 she bartended at a charity event. After the cameras left, she turned that hustle into income she controls: Cameo shoutouts at a reported $25 a video, a TikTok audience past a million under @shaunarae99, and Fitclusion, her fashion line for smaller bodies, open since December 2023. A paycheck photographs worse than a first date — but it pays for all the others.
No. 2: The First Nights Away — Brooklyn With Rylee
In the Season 2 finale in January 2023, Shauna and her sister Rylee moved to Brooklyn to trial living on their own. A migraine dampened the excitement, and she faced a real fork in the road: school, or travel the world with Dan. It ranks second for one honest reason: the Brooklyn trial run was a trial, not the move itself. The real move came later, off camera.
No. 1: The First Time Behind the Wheel — Hand Controls, Full Freedom
Nothing else comes close. In “Shauna Takes the Wheel,” which aired on December 28, 2022, Shauna took her driving test in a car fitted with hand controls — and passed. Fans still call it the show’s most emotional moment: a license is not a symbol of independence, it is the thing itself. No more asking for rides, no more building her day around someone else’s schedule.
YOU MAY LIKEThe Baby Cancer Battle That Made Her 3-Foot-10: Shauna Rae’s Full Health JourneyAnd then there is the first that never made it to television. In January 2025, on the Unplanned podcast with Matt and Abby Howard, Shauna was asked whether she lived alone — and answered, “No, I live with my boyfriend.” It was the biggest first of them all: a front door of her own, as what she said herself in January 2025 made clear. So which first really made Shauna Rae a grown woman in your eyes — the license she earned on camera in December 2022, or the front door she opened off camera when she told Matt Howard she lives with her boyfriend?
