A 5ft 9in woman who towers over her fiancé says the couple are constantly "stopped in the street" due to their unusual height difference.<br /><br />Sam Espinal, 24, and fiancé Stephen Di Fede, 32, don't get a second glance when they're sat down together.<br /><br />But the pair regularly get remarks, stares and stopped when they're stood side-by-side due to Sam being six inches taller than her 5ft 3ins beau.<br /><br />People even stop and congratulate him on bagging a tall lass.<br /><br />The couple admit it took them both some time to get used to their height difference due to the social expectation for men to be taller than women.<br /><br />But now they claim they don't even notice it and encourage others to open their minds to people of all heights.<br /><br />Sam warned "turning people down because of their height can result in missing out on someone who might be your dream partner".<br /><br />The content creator and event planner, from Manhattan, New York, US, said: "I always thought I could never date someone shorter than me.<br /><br />"The height difference did bother me a bit in the beginning. I couldn't see myself being OK with it.<br /><br />"People would stop us in the street to congratulate Stephen for dating a taller woman - it felt a bit weird.<br /><br />"But as I fell in love, it just went away. I just stopped thinking about it.<br /><br />"Now I can see people one thousand percent miss out on relationships because they rule people out based on their height."<br /><br />Stephen, a content creator and dancer, added: "I always expected to have to date people taller than me - if I only stuck with shorter women, I would have a very small group to choose from.<br /><br />"In a funny way, it brings the humour to our relationship - like when I literally can't reach something high up.<br /><br />"Other than poking fun and having a laugh on social media, we don't really think about it."<br /><br />Sam and Stephen met through work in October 2016, when she did an internship at the school where he worked as a teacher.<br /><br />Sam originally thought she could never date someone shorter than her - but eventually was drawn to Stephen.<br /><br />They started dating properly in February 2017.<br /><br />The pair - @stephnsammy on TikTok - became official the following September.<br /><br />Sam said: "People one thousand per cent miss out by ruling people out for their height.<br /><br />"If people just put their guard down and let themselves be attracted to someone they think they might like, it would be so much easier to find love.<br /><br />"The way you connect with someone is so important - personality is what matters most."
