She rejected him because he was 5'8". Now they've been married for 13 years.

Height is often treated as the "final frontier" of dating preferences. While society has evolved on many standards, the trope that women only date tall men, and men only date shorter women, persists.

But for Jovana, a 6'4" content creator known as @hola_jovana, those rules were made to be broken.

Jovana recently went viral after receiving a backhanded comment on social media regarding her husband, who stands at 5'8". The commenter wrote, "Looks odd to me, but I'll get over my issues."

Gif of confused woman saying "OK"

Instead of getting angry, Jovana used the moment to share a story from her college days that proves confidence stands taller than any physical measurement.

The "Meet Cute"

Jovana recalled the day she first met her now-husband. He approached her with a level of swagger that ignored their 8-inch height difference entirely.

"You're my girlfriend, you just don't know it yet," he quipped.

Jovana, who had strict dating criteria at the time, wasn't immediately sold. She looked him up and down and delivered a brutal rejection.

"I said the shortest I would go is 6'1, so you don't make the cut," she recalled telling him.

A woman rejects a man's advancesCanva

The Turning Point

Most men would have walked away, bruised by the rejection. He didn't. He took the comment in stride, and they continued talking. As they got to know one another, Jovana realized that his height was the least interesting thing about him.

"He is so masculine and he's such a gentleman," she explained, noting that he had "layers to him" that went beyond physical appearance.

However, the real clincher came two weeks later. He issued an ultimatum that displayed the kind of self-worth Jovana found irresistible. He told her that he was done just talking; if she wanted to be his girlfriend, she needed to say so, or they would go their separate ways forever.

The "Short King" Energy

That ultimatum worked. Jovana reveals at the end of her story that the "too short" man became her husband. They have now been happily married for 13 years and share two children.

A couple kissingCanva

For Jovana, the term "short king" isn't about physical stature; it is about energy.

Her story resonates with a growing number of women who are ditching traditional height requirements. While a 2013 study in Animal Behaviour suggested that women generally prefer men who are significantly taller (about 25cm difference), real-world connections often defy the data.

The comments section of Jovana's post was flooded with support from other tall women who found love without a measuring tape.

"I’m 6’2” and my husband is 5’6”!" user @sadie_bucket wrote. "18 wonderful years together and a million to go! Height doesn’t matter! Short kings rule!"

Another user, @c.clearly, added, "As a 6’0" tall woman, I love that the men who approach me are actually secure in their masculinity."

This article originally appeared earlier this year.