Growing up, Chelsey Peat hated the way she looked.

Chelsey was born with a rare condition called Sturge-Weber Syndrome, a neurological disorder that caused her to have a large birthmark on the left side of her face as well as glaucoma in her left eye.

Throughout her childhood life was a ‘living hell’ due to cruel bullies who called Chelsey a ‘monster’ and a ‘freak’, and nicknamed her ‘two-face’.

As a result, Chelsey’s self-confidence was at rock bottom and she believed she would never find love.

But then in 2004, Chelsey met Matt through mutual friends. They started chatting more online and realised they had a connection.

In 2008 the couple got married, and after that they welcomed two daughters; Athena, now 13, and Zelda, three.

Now Chelsey has the dream life she never imagined would be possible.

The mum-of-two is sharing her story to raise awareness of her condition and give hope to others who have been bullied for the way they look.

Chelsey, who works part time in a hospital, said: ‘It is so much more than just a birthmark, there is so much going on under the surface.

‘It is a complete genetic mutation. There is nobody in my family who has the condition.

‘I always sided with the poor defenceless characters in movies, such as the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the beast in Beauty and the Beast and the Phantom of the Opera.

‘Those guys helped me growing up, because school was really hard.

‘Ever since the release of the Batman Forever movie, I was given the nickname Two-Face after the character who had half his face burnt with acid.

‘I didn’t have many friends growing up, it could be a very lonely time.

‘You get to the age where you want boys to notice you but they didn’t want a thing to do with me because I looked different.

‘A few months before my high school grad dance, I prayed someone would ask me to go with them, but they never did.

‘I longed to be like every other normal teen girl. Self-acceptance has been a battle.

‘In my teen years, I’d put on thick layers of foundation to hide my birthmark.

‘But then I came to a realisation later on. Why should I do the hiding and masking to make other people comfortable with me?’

Chelsey did not have the easiest start in life, undergoing brain surgery at just 18 months old to stop the life-threatening seizures caused by her condition.

Doctors told her mother that Chelsey had just a 50% chance of surviving the procedure, and that if she lived, she would likely have serious mental disabilities.

Chelsey beat the odds and survived, but soon she began to realise she looked different to the other children.

She said: ‘I remember as a young child, people would come up to me and my mother in the shopping centre asking how I got burnt, or thinking I had been beaten.

‘My mum said there was a man who once wrapped his arms around her and told her that he could help the two of us get away from our abusive situation.

‘But she was always very diplomatic and would educate people, which is something that stuck with me and is how I deal with those situations today.’

The bullying and abuse from her peers took a toll on Chelsey’s mental health in her childhood, but meeting Matt gave her hope.

Talking online made it easier for Chelsey to open up and get to know Matt without feeling constantly conscious of her birthmark.

‘We got to chatting online and would talk for hours,’ Chelsey said. ‘I felt like he got to know the real me.

‘If I try and speak with people in real life, all they can focus on is the birthmark. I feel like a bit of a monster that way.

‘The next thing I know he asked me on a date, we went to the park, and then on another date to the mall.

‘It was a big deal for anyone to be interested in me at the time, I never thought that was even possible.

‘I never thought I would have a husband or kids because of how I looked.

‘But we fell in love, and he loved me for me. He didn’t care about my birthmark.’

Now, Chelsey has learned to accept and embrace the way she looks – despite the stares she continues to receive from strangers.

She wants her story to give other people hope, and to encourage people not to judge or shame those with physical differences.

‘I wish people knew we are not contagious, which is one of the biggest misconceptions,’ said Chelsey.

‘Accept us and love us for who we are, birthmarks and all.

‘We are incredible people, but we don’t get to use our full potential because the outside world is not comfortable with us because we are such oddities.

‘I want to be treated like any other woman in 2020.’

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