Complete strangers insist on asking John and Jade Reynolds prying questions – both online and in real life – about the most intimate details of their relationship. Jade, 32, was diagnosed with acute transverse myelitis of her spinal cord when she was 12 years old. Acute transverse myelitis is a ‘very rare condition’ and Jade was told she ‘had a better chance of winning the lottery than getting it’. Meanwhile, the happily married young wife from Preston, Lancashire, England, said she is regularly asked if she can have children – despite being a mother of two. She also admitted that a stranger once asked to touch her leg to see if she could feel it. John, 33, listed the common questions he gets asked about his wife in a TikTok video, including whether they have sex and whether she can be a good mum. The now-viral clip has amassed 4.7 million views as of Monday afternoon. John and Jade Reynolds are often asked embarrassing questions about their relationship. Kennedy News and MediaPeople have asked John Reynolds if he has a “thing” for people in wheelchairs. Kennedy News and Media The pair followed up with another TikTok with Jade’s version of what she asked for as a wheelchair user. Examples include: “Can I go to your chair?”, “I have to[o] beautiful to be in a wheelchair’ and ‘Can you have children?’ The following TikTok now has 374,000 views. “Many people still feel entitled to know the answers… Why ask questions about our sex lives?” John Reynolds, on questions that are ‘perverted and fetishize us’ “In the video about questions being asked of me, the vast majority of people were like, ‘Oh my God, that’s outrageous,’ but there’s probably 1 or 2 percent who still want to know the answers,” said John, a youth pastor. Kennedy News. He said he intended the viral videos to be light-hearted and shed light on questions impotent couples regularly receive. “Many people still feel entitled to know the answers to these questions,” he said. “The concern is that some of the questions might be a little perverse and fetishize us. It’s weird — it’s like, Why would you ask that? Why ask questions about our sex life?’ John pointed out that the questions highlighted in the videos were simply the most “outrageous” ones asked. John and Jade Reynolds have been married for six years. Kennedy News and Media John, 33, and Jade, 32, with their children, Elijah, 5, and Areli, 2. Kennedy News and Media “I met people and within the first two minutes of meeting them, they wanted to know everything about my disability.” Jade Reynolds, opening up about the audience’s “very invasive” questions “I think people are just intrigued by anything that’s different,” he added. “It’s not so much that we’re offended, but if we were both capable, they wouldn’t ask us to do something like this.” “If they’re asking if a person in a wheelchair can be a good mum, they obviously don’t know many people in wheelchairs,” John said. “You just feel a little sorry for the people who ask these questions.” John joked that the videos “are a little soft and should be taken with a grain of salt.” However, the questions people ask Jade sometimes turn into awkward personal encounters. “I met people and within the first two minutes of meeting them, they wanted to know everything about my disability,” she said. “I think most disabled people can relate to that.” Jade said she is regularly asked about whether she can have children, despite being a mother of two. Kennedy News and Media Jade explained that she doesn’t mind talking about her disability, but people who aren’t closely related to her tend to ask “very intrusive” questions. “If I’m having a bad day, these questions can get me pretty down. If I’m having a good day, I can just laugh,” he said. Jade, who has been in a wheelchair for 20 years, has gotten better at setting boundaries with people as she’s gotten older. John listed the common questions he gets asked about his wife in a TikTok video, including whether they have sex and whether she can be a good mum. Kennedy News and Media “I met someone at a community event who was quite excited by my condition and told me to close my eyes for a second,” she shared. “He couldn’t understand how I couldn’t feel my legs and he wanted to try it. I said “I don’t know you, I’m not going to close my eyes and let you touch my feet. This is a bit inappropriate.’ “ Jade admitted that she believes many questions come from ignorance “rather than malice” because there is not much representation of disabled people in society. “So when people meet people with disabilities, they have a lot of questions, and sometimes they don’t think about how some of those questions can be hurtful.” She acknowledged that sometimes people project their insecurities onto her, especially when it comes to her relationship. Jade has said that she is “yes[o] beautiful to be in a wheelchair.” Kennedy News and Media People will tell her, “If I was in a wheelchair, I’d be worried my partner would leave me.” But Jade never thinks about that. “I know other wheelchair users who have been asked, ‘Are you worried your partner is going to leave you?’ Fortunately, I have not been asked to do that,” he said. “But there’s this twisted view of their relationship where it almost seems like John is doing me a favor,” Jade admitted. She also finds that people project their fears or insecurities onto her. “This can be quite frustrating, [when strangers say,] “If I were you, I don’t think I’d want to live.” It’s very shocking, but I don’t think people who say that realize how bad it sounds.” “I’m enjoying my life and I don’t need people to put that on me,” she added. The couple hopes to raise awareness about being a couple with people who might be a couple through their podcast and online platforms. “Sometimes you get bored answering the same questions from different people,” John said. “One of the things we do is answer these questions on our religious podcast ‘Bring To Light.’ “ They shared Jade’s story on their podcast and talked about how faith helped her cope, and they encourage people to check out her story on the podcast if they want to know more. The couple also mentioned the types of comments they receive online versus real life. “People usually have too much pride to ask these kinds of questions in person, as they can pick up on social cues and see that it’s not appropriate. I think people are more likely to do it if they can hide behind a screen,” John shared. “It’s probably easier for us to ignore these kinds of questions online since we can just delete the comments,” he added. John and Jade Reynolds have two children, Elijah and Areli. Kennedy News and Media John and Jade, who met in college and have been married for six years, say they forgive people’s questions and find it easy to give people the benefit of the doubt because of their Christian faith. “We are Christians, so we forgive people who make ignorant comments. We believe that all people are made in the image of God and are loved by God,” John said. “We give people the benefit of the doubt and forgive, because we all make mistakes.” John believes their faith helps them talk to people about disabilities. “Everyone knows deep down that a disability does not diminish your value as a human being,” he said.
