Love Is Blind UK Star Yasmin Toseafa Opens Up About 20-Year Vitiligo Journey on Fubar Radio

Model and NHS professional reveals how representation, self-acceptance and a life-changing moment during COVID helped her stop hiding her condition

Love Is Blind UK Series 3 star Yasmin Toseafa has opened up about her 20-year journey with vitiligo, revealing how seeing model and supermodel Winnie Harlow embrace the condition helped her begin to challenge years of low confidence and hiding.

Toseafa joined Fubar Radio's What the Health, hosted by women's self-love and confidence coach Claira Hermit, for a candid conversation about vitiligo, self-acceptance, dating, representation and the decision to put herself publicly outside her comfort zone.

Toseafa first noticed changes to her skin at around eight or nine years old. With no family history of vitiligo, she initially struggled to understand where the white patches had come from. As she entered adolescence, she says the condition had a significant impact on her confidence and self-esteem. For around 20 years, Toseafa regularly used makeup to camouflage her vitiligo, describing how she became increasingly worried about people seeing her without it - from sleepovers and social events to everyday situations.

"I definitely think my vitiligo affected my self esteem, the way I saw myself, you know how beautiful I thought I was, and also how beautiful I thought other people would think I was," Toseafa told Hermit. "And so I think for a long time I just didn't like myself. There was a lot of, you know, self-loathing."

A major turning point came when Toseafa became aware of Winnie Harlow, whose visible vitiligo has been part of her career as an internationally recognised model. "I thought to myself, my goodness, if this woman can be a whole Victoria's Secret model that the world is seeing her vitiligo and she's not covering it up,"Toseafa said."I was like, the least I can do is open the door to the postman."

Her journey towards going makeup-free began with small steps - opening the door, going to the gym and visiting the shops without camouflage - before another major shift during the COVID-19 pandemic. While isolating after contracting COVID early in the pandemic, Toseafa says she reflected on what she wanted her life to look like and questioned how much of it she had spent worrying about other people's opinions. She eventually posted a photograph of herself without makeup on Instagram and Facebook, explaining her experience with vitiligo and her decision to stop hiding it. She describes the response as overwhelmingly positive and says the freedom that followed was "life changing."

"Seeing people like Winnie Harlow changed my life," Toseafa said. "If I hadn't seen people like her in the mainstream media, I would still be camouflaging." Toseafa says that representation gave her something she had previously struggled to imagine:"I was like, oh wow, she's so open [with her vitiligo], and I think she looks beautiful. Like maybe, maybe I can do that."

Since embracing her vitiligo, Toseafa has pursued modelling, became a Miss Universe Great Britain finalist and took part in Love Is Blind UK - experiences she says she may never have pursued without that initial shift in mindset. "If I can do for someone else what Winnie Harlow has done for me, I'll be so happy," she said.

Her decision to appear on Love Is Blind UK was another step in embracing vulnerability. Having had limited relationship experience, Toseafa saw the programme as an opportunity to challenge herself, meet people in a different way and avoid looking back with regret. "I've tried the conventional way. I've tried the apps. It hasn't worked. Let me try this," she said.

Toseafa also reflected on how the experience has strengthened her confidence and helped her become more direct about what she wants from a future partner. The conversation ultimately returned to the message at the heart of Toseafa's journey: not allowing fear or insecurity to prevent you from experiencing life. "Do not waste another second of your precious time on this earth thinking that you are not good enough, you don't belong here, or you know you can't do something," she said. "A lot of the time, the barriers that we have in our lives are ones we place on ourselves."