Ashley, 26, and James Young, 30, look different from other couples. But they are happy and beautiful. Both have only one full arm. But that doesn’t prevent the couple, who live in London, from working as models and actors.
Ashley was born a twin in the United States. While her sister was born perfectly healthy, Ashley had no right forearm and five mini-fingers at the end of the stump.
+++ BILD is now also on TV! Click here for BILD LIVE +++
James, on the other hand, had a serious accident in London in 2012 when he was in his early 20s when he was standing too close to a platform edge and was hit by an incoming train. He lost an arm and leg on the left side of his body. Can they support each other? “Definitely!” Says Ashley to BILD am SONNTAG. “But more emotionally than physically.”
But at first everyone had their own problems. For Ashley, it was the bullying of other children that drove her into the stables at home. “I grew up on our farm with 15 horses,” she says. “You were my escape. You don’t judge people and their appearance. “
From then on, their happiness lay on the back of a horse. “Since I’m relatively tall at 1.74 meters and my left side is very strong, I got into the saddle without any problems.”
James, on the other hand, was an avid video game gamer when tons of steel poured into him. It took months to patch it up again. Even today – he is currently in the hospital – he still has problems.
But video game play had its good side too. With the Japanese game giant Konami, he developed a prosthetic arm that met his ideas. James made a film about this process for the BBC that can be viewed on YouTube: “Metal Gear Man”.
In everyday life, Elara’s parents help with their bionic arm and leg prosthesesPhoto: Ashley Mae Sherman / Facebook
A film that Ashley watched with her neighbor at home in Orlando, Florida. Whereupon she said to the neighbor: “I’m going to marry this man!”
And sometimes life is a fairy tale after all. A short time later, actress Angel Giuffria called Ashley to ask if she could accommodate someone who would have to wait a few days for a flight in Orlando. “I said, ‘If he helps with the horses, he can stay with us for free.'” It was James, the metal man.
They are now married, live in England and are the parents of two-year-old Elara. “I had jobs in London even during my pregnancy,” says Ashley. “People are much more open-minded there than in the States.” Ashley advertises underwear and has herself photographed for Italian “Vogue”.
But immediately the healthy little daughter is the focus. Since this week she has been going to kindergarten and is still strangers. She’d rather be at home on Mommy’s couch. How does she deal with her parents’ disabilities? “She doesn’t really care!” Says Ashley. “She thinks we’re relatively unique. But that’s what many children think of their parents. “