I have the world’s biggest FEET at size 18 – it is impossible to find shoes & I constantly get fetish messages online
A WOMAN who holds the record of having the world’s biggest feet has revealed the unique challenges she faces in her daily life.
Tanya Herbert, 39, from Houston was awarded the title By Guinness World Records in 2022 for her extraordinary feet that measure 13.03 inches and 12.79 inches each – the largest any woman has.
Tanya has always been much taller than all her peers – and her feet reached the record-breaking size during high school itself.
She told the Guinness World Records: “Growing up I was always the tallest around. My mom was 6 ft 5 in and my dad is 6 ft 4 in so I had no choice but to be tall.”
While growing up, Tanya said she never felt insecure about her feet and was always confident in her height.
She shared that her parents and friends always boosted her self-esteem as a child – and made her feel loved.
“My parents gave me a very healthy self-esteem growing up so I didn’t think of being tall as a bad thing.
“I never remember getting bullied or anything like that for my height. My friends actually took great care of me to make sure I was loved and liked.”
But with the grand record also came some pretty unique challenges that she has to face every day in her life.
When the largest feet in the world, Tanya – who wears size 18 – finds it extremely difficult to get shoes that fit her.
For years, her only option was to wear men’s shoes as those were the only ones she could find in her size.
Tanya said: “I would always wear tennis shoes or men’s loafers and they were not always the cutest thing when trying to dress cute for school!”
She soon turned to social media platforms to connect with other women with large feet who gave her advice on how to create her own shoes.
“I would buy some of the largest shoes I could find online and manipulate those to extend them out a little longer and make them a little wider so that they would fit my feet,” she added.
However, Tanya’s online journey was marred by a slew of fetish messages she received from men online.
She said that a lot of men who followed her on social media have sent her creepy messages – with some of them even asking to buy pictures of her feet.
“I never got on social media to be an object of affection or anything like that, or to go into the foot fetish world,” Tanya said.
“5% of men that follow me are the ones who send strange and interesting comments into my inbox asking if I would sell them pictures of my feet.”
But a strong Tanya says she is not bothered by such messages – and wants to continue spreading positivity on social media.
She hopes that her story prompts shoe manufacturing companies to be more inclusive and provide more customisable and affordable options for women with large feet.
Tanya said: “Being a world record holder may open doors that I may not have been able to get into beforehand. I want to be a spark to the shoe manufacturing industry!”