Man was abandoned at birth by parents because they didn't like his face

A man who was abandoned at birth by his parents because they didn't like his face has learned how to love himself and now uses his experiences to help others.

In Jono's case, he has an underdeveloped jaw, no cheekbones and what he describes as 'little Bart Simpson ears'.

Learning to embrace his unique appearance has been a long journey, one that started from the moment he was born.

In a new interview with LADbible, Jono explained that his parents abandoned him because of the way he looked, something he didn't find out until he was 24.

The West Yorkshire lad, now 38, was handed a hospital document that read: "Both parents were horrified by the child's appearance. Both parents felt no maternal bond.

"Both parents left the hospital 36 hours later, leaving the child behind."

Even prior to receiving the document, Jono said that he began to form a story in his head of how they had left him due to the way he looked.

"When I was in college, obviously I didn’t have those words," he explained.

“我正在形成这些作品，我正在创建答案，到那时他们离开了我，因为我看起来与众不同。

“他们离开了我，因为我看起来像这样，它摧毁了我。”

The author said growing up was tough as a result, having experienced bullying during his school years.

Although he'd suffered taunting from people on the street before, Jono said he had a 'safe, close knit environment' - but this all changed when he reached high school.

他说：“突然之间，所有这些孩子都从未见过我。我接触了大孩子。”

"And then all of a sudden the pointing, the name calling, kids pulling their eyes down towards me, just laughing at me... that's when my differences weren't cool anymore, I wasn't able to celebrate them."

As he got older and went through a relationship and breakup, Jonathan suffered what he described as his 'darkest period'.

But when he turned 20, he went through a four year period of 'growth and healing' which led to him becoming the confident and outgoing person he is today.

One person who has always backed Jono is his mum, Jean, who adopted him at the age of five.

在此期间，他解释说：“我的妈妈，她一直在那儿 - 但是现在我向她开放聊天。

"My friendships were there, I was talking to them. I was in a healthy relationship, I had a job, I was in a very good place."

Being in such a secure place in his life, Jono decided to reach out to his birth parents to let them know he was okay, but the contact was rejected.

Looking back, he said it was a 'mixture of emotions', although at this point he'd made peace with what had happened.

“现在，我已经把它全部删除了，事实是我对我的亲生父母唯一知道的是他们给了我生命。

"They brought me into this world and it's down to me to live this life and make the most of this life.

"And it's a beautiful life, now anyway, so for that I'm forever blessed."

Elsewhere in the interview, Jono recalled the first time he realised he was comfortable with his appearance.

While at the gym, stood in front of a full length mirror, he explained: "I look at my face, and instead of wanting to push my eyes up, I smiled.

"For the first time in I can't remember how many years, I absolutely loved what I saw."

Today, Jono shares his story to inspire others, and has dedicated his life to helping people embrace and love themselves.