Shane Harding is a 28-year-old British hairdresser from Barnstaple in Devon. She is a transgender person. Her personal life made headlines when she met and married Turkish barber Mert Esrim, a love story shown on the reality TV series 90 Day Fiancé UK. The couple first met in Istanbul in 2022, when Shane was there for surgery to support her gender identity, and they fell in love after talking on a dating app. Amazingly, they got married within 90 days on the show, and by 2024, Mert had gotten a UK spouse visa to live with Shane in Devon.
Finding Love
Shane Harding was born and raised in Barnstaple, Devon. She built her career as a skilled hairdresser in the English countryside. In 2022, Shane travelled to Turkey for surgery related to her gender transition. While there, she downloaded a dating app, hoping to meet someone LGBTQ+-friendly. The first message she got was from Mert Esrim Atasoy, a 29-year-old Turkish barber in Istanbul. They felt an instant connection. In other words, a normal hospital trip turned into a fairy-tale meeting of love across cultures and continents.
This fast-moving romance quickly became serious. Even though they lived 2,000 miles apart and spoke different native languages (they used Google Translate at first), Shane and Mert decided to try a long-distance relationship. Their daily video calls and visits were filmed for Channel 4’s 90 Day Fiancé UK series, which shows British couples looking for love abroad.
On 90 Day Fiancé UK, each couple typically has 90 days to marry or break off their engagement. In a real-life twist, Shane and Mert got engaged and wed in just 90 days. In September 2024, it was reported: “Shane Harding, 27, from Devon, married Mert, 28, a barber from Turkey after embarking on a holiday romance two years ago”.
The public reaction was mixed. Shane and Mert reported being attacked by some trolls on social media who doubted their motivations. Shane stood up to the doubters (“Wow, get a grip,” she snapped at one commenter) while many fans cheered on the couple as “legends”. Overall, though, Fabulous reported that the pair had been “happily married” for over a year and continued documenting their life on Shane’s TikTok account. Through the ups and downs, the show spotlighted Shane’s frank, no-nonsense personality and unwavering support for Mert – elements that fans found very sweet
New Beginnings in the UK: Marriage and Visa
In May 2024, news came out that Mert’s request to live in the UK with Shane had been approved, allowing the couple to live together without always having to travel. The Sun confirms this happy ending: “Mert has got his visa to live in the UK”, and the two had been taking turns flying between Devon and Istanbul until it was approved. With the visa in hand, Shane and Mert could really start their next chapter living together.
At home in Devon, Shane and Mert have kept sharing their story. They started a YouTube channel called “Shane Harding The Next Chapter” to share videos about their daily lives. In these videos, Shane has honestly shared everything from daily routines to her “Mounjaro weight loss journey” (a new medicine she tried).
Outside of her TV fame, Shane’s main job is hairstyling. In her local Devon community, Shane is known for her creative style and friendly personality behind the salon chair. She has worked at salons in the South West and, being from Barnstaple, likely serves a close-knit group of clients. Despite the spotlight, she has said in social media posts that she is proud of her work and loves helping people feel confident with new hairstyles.
Today Shane and Mert live with their pets and stay active on social media. They have two cats and often share videos of cooking at home or their pets online. On TikTok and YouTube, Shane openly talks about topics like wellness, mental health, and even plastic surgery, such as her plans for future body shaping that she has discussed in interviews. The Fabulous feature also noted Shane’s honesty about her health and her changing appearance. While the media focused on the wedding and visa, Shane has used her platform to promote positive body image, life with menopause (as a late-transitioning trans woman), and dealing with online negativity.
