Man Whose Mother Called Him 'Ugly' At Birth Has Come A Long Way After 44 Years

The day your child is born is one you will remember for the rest of your life. The moment you get to see your child's face for the first time is ingrained in your memory forever. This moment was even more impactful in a day and age when there were no prenatal scans to catch a glimpse of your baby's face before they were delivered. In the 1970s when Australian Robert Hoge was born, if your child were to have a facial abnormality, you wouldn't know until the moment you looked them in the eyes, face to face. 

This is what happened to Robert Hoge, a now 44-year-old man who was born with a large facial tumor that his mother called "ugly" at birth. Not only was Robert born with a facial tumor, he had other physical abnormalities that would affect him for the rest of his life...

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Robert Hoge was born 44 years ago in Australia with a severe facial tumor and deformed legs. 

His mother Mary had a clear reaction when she saw her fifth child Robert for the first time.

She told her sister that "he is so ugly." While many people may immediately attack his mother for saying such a mean thing about her own son, it's also the case that she had to deal with the shock of giving birth to a child with substantial physical problems. At the time, his mother simply didn't want to take him home. 

The family, of course, took little Robert home, even after it was suggested that he be put in an institution. 

Robert had to undergo several surgeries after birth, one being the removal of the facial tumor that had grown to roughly the size of a tennis ball. He also had to have both legs amputated to make room for prostheses. 

Here he is pictured with his four siblings. 

Robert explained to NPR how he used to respond to children who pointed out his deformities...

When children asked him "Why have you got a squished nose?" or other questions about his abnormal appearance, Robert simply said, "I was born that way."

"And probably nine times out of 10, the questions wouldn't go much further than that. ... That satisfied them, and it certainly satisfied me," added Robert.

Robert had the choice to undergo further reconstructive surgery to hide the mark left by past surgeries but decided against it at the age of 14. 

Robert said, "We ended up talking about some of the potential side effects of the operation, and because they were moving my eyes a little bit closer again, there was a chance — and a not insignificant chance — that I might go blind." 

After 24 surgeries up until that point in his life, he decided that he wanted to stay the way he was. 

Robert didn't let his appearance stop his life. At 30, he was married to his wife Sue and had a daughter.

You have to see Robert now!

Robert has spent time as an author and motivational speaker, and he even served as a political adviser to the former Queensland Premier and Deputy Premier.

His life experiences up until this point have served as the motivation for a book that was released in 2013.

Robert wants kids to become comfortable with every type of human, regardless of their appearance. 

Robert came out with a book called Ugly that details his life journey and his various life struggles. In an article he wrote for Mamamia, Robert sums up the message he wants to convey to young children struggling with differences in physical appearance. 


"We need to expose kids to the beautiful, broad range of humanity — warts and all. Kids need to hear that lots of people have at one time or another felt pretty or ugly or smart or pimply. Then they need to hear that no one is just pretty, or just ugly, or just smart, or just pimply or just poor or just a fast runner or just in a wheelchair. No one is just any one thing."

Here is an incredible TED talk by Robert Hoge. He discusses his unique story and how everyone should own their face.

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