Before judging another family, she suggested, people should understand that they may be seeing only one tiny piece of a much larger story.
Understanding Achondroplasia Beyond Height
Part of that larger story involves understanding what dwarfism actually means.
Achondroplasia is not simply another word for being short.
It is a specific genetic skeletal condition caused by changes in FGFR3.
The gene provides instructions for producing a protein involved in the development and maintenance of bone and other tissues. Certain variants make the FGFR3 protein excessively active, interfering with normal skeletal development.
People with achondroplasia typically have shorter arms and legs in relation to their torso, along with other characteristic skeletal features.
The condition can also be associated with medical complications that require monitoring throughout life.
But a diagnosis does not define someone's personality, intelligence, ambitions or ability to form relationships and families.
That distinction is important.
When the public sees Charli and Cullen primarily as “a couple with dwarfism,” their medical conditions can overshadow the far more ordinary reality that they are also partners and parents navigating the same exhaustion, affection, uncertainty and chaos familiar to countless families.
Cullen's Rare Condition
Geleophysic dysplasia is much less common than achondroplasia.
GeneReviews reports that only around 100 affected individuals have been described in the medical literature, emphasizing how rare the condition is.
It can involve more than short stature.
Possible features include short hands and feet, joint stiffness or contractures, thickened skin, distinctive facial characteristics and, in some individuals, cardiac, airway or pulmonary complications.
The severity can vary.
GeneReviews also emphasizes that geleophysic dysplasia is genetically heterogeneous, meaning different genes can produce the condition. Pathogenic variants in ADAMTSL2, FBN1 and LTBP3 have been identified, and inheritance patterns differ depending on the genetic cause.
That complexity is another reason simplistic online discussions about “dwarfism genes” can be misleading.
There is no single dwarfism gene and no single experience shared by every person of short stature.
For families such as Charli and Cullen's, individualized medical advice and genetic testing are essential for understanding their specific situation.
Then Came Rip
Eventually, the long period of uncertainty ended with good news for the family.
Charli gave birth to their son, Rip, at the end of February 2021.
His arrival transformed Charli and Cullen's household into a family of five.
After everything that had accompanied the pregnancy — genetic testing, waiting, public scrutiny and the ordinary physical demands of carrying a baby — Charli shared a photograph of herself with her newborn.
Her message was striking because it was not about genetics.
It was about motherhood.
She acknowledged being exhausted while simultaneously feeling enormously grateful.
And she reflected on something parents everywhere could recognize: there is no single perfect formula for being a mother.
That message represented an important shift in the story.
For months, outsiders had been focused on probabilities.
Would the baby inherit Charli's condition?
Would the baby inherit Cullen's?
Would the baby be average height?
Would there be serious complications?
After Rip was born, those hypothetical questions were replaced by the immediate reality of having a newborn.
Feeding.
Sleeping.