Model, 28, with Limb Difference Carries Her Prosthetic Legs in Public After Years Feeling 'Ashamed' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Model Lyric Heard showing off her prosthetic leg.Photo:Lyric Heard

Lyric Heard

Now a model in London, Mariah has amassed more than 330,000 followers onTikTokand 575,000 followers onInstagram, where she shares videos of herself swapping out her prosthetic legs in public — from the train to the café and beyond. The first video of the leg switch, which she posted in 2023, quickly went viral.

“It was set to aBarbiesound, and it was only seven seconds long,” she tells PEOPLE. “My friends and I were shooting content that day, and I was just adjusting and fixing Tina. My friend happened to capture that moment.”

“It was totally organic,” she adds. “My friend was like, ‘Oh, that looks so cute! You should post it.’ " So she did. Instantly, people loved it, and Mariah says that’s when everything clicked.

The 28-year-old was born with amniotic band syndrome, a rare condition in which fibrous bands from the amniotic sac become tangled around parts of the developing fetus. As a result, she is missing the lower half of her right leg and has only three fully-formed fingers on her left hand, and none on her right.

As the only child in her town with a limb difference, Mariah quickly realized she was “different,” she shares. Growing up, she faced the normal challenges most teenage girls encounter — plus a few extra. She recalls being extremely critical of her body and often wearing her insecurities on her sleeve.

Lyric Mariah Heard

She adds, “But at some point, you get so unhappy that you can’t keep pretending anymore.”

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Lyric Heard’s first prosthetic leg.Lyric Mariah Heard

As she grew, Mariah got a new prosthetic leg every year and a half, until she turned 18. “That became a bit of an issue,” she explains. “When I turned 18, it was really hard to get a new one because of insurance complications.”

“I’d be on set, trying to blend in, but I was standing out in the worst way,” she says.

Lyric Heard poses next to prosthetic leg.Svenja Ava Mueller/@svenja.Ava

Svenja Ava Mueller/@svenja.Ava

Along with the worn-out leg, Mariah also felt different only having prosthetics with flat arches, which limited her ability to wear certain types of footwear. For years, she wasn’t allowed to wear high-heeled shoes, even to her prom. But that didn’t stop her from trying.

“I’d walk at an angle, and my foot would just be going upwards. But I made it work!” she says. “I definitely gave my mom a run for her money.”

While using this leg on set, she says her stylist — the only one who would take the time to help her with the shoes — was a huge support. “Other stylists would just say, ‘If this doesn’t fit, just throw on an easier shoe,’ ” she recalls. “But he was patient. He’d sit there with my leg off, just holding it in his lap, tying everything up until it was perfect.”

Lyric Heard shows of prosthetic leg.@balazsweidner

@balazsweidner

One day, he was trying to get a boot on Bertha, her prosthetic for sneakers, but it just wouldn’t cooperate. Out of nowhere, he said, “Come on, Bertha!” It was so funny that from that moment on, they started calling that prosthetic Bertha. Later, they decided to name the other one Tina.

Mariah laughs, adding, “I love it! Bertha’s all about business — straight to the point. She gets the job done, no frills. She doesn’t need to be cute; she’s just there to get me from point A to point B.”

Looking back, Mariah says she spent so much time feeling ashamed of her prosthetics, like they were holding her back, ruining her confidence, and making life so much harder. But now, being where she is today — from walking in big runway shows to advocating for inclusivity in the fashion space — she’s come to a place where she’s accepted them as part of her story.

Lyric Heard with both of her prosthetic legs.Lyric Heard

“As a grown woman, do I think about how people perceive me carrying my prosthetic leg? No. Growing up, I didn’t carry my leg with me, and I only had one prosthetic. But it was always there, and that didn’t stop people from looking, pointing, staring or having something to say.”

“So, it doesn’t really make much of a difference now,” she adds. “In fact, I think it actually leads to fewer questions. The more visible it is, the more people just accept it. I’ve had way more awkward experiences in places like airports or on the train — those situations feel a lot more uncomfortable than walking around and changing my prosthetic. Because when people see me switch legs, they usually think, ‘Oh, okay, fair enough.’ "

She adds, “The less you hide, the less people feel like you should be hiding.”

source: people.com