KEY FACTS — NICK VUJICIC, MARRIAGE AND DISABILITY
✅ Nick Vujicic was born with tetra-amelia syndrome – no arms and no legs
✅ Nick describes doubting throughout his life that he would ever get married or find someone to love him
✅ He met Kanae Miyahara and married her at age 29
✅ Kanae: “I fell in love with him the way he is now. I was looking for other things – and all those things I found in him.”
✅ Kanae: “He’s not only boyfriend material, he could be my husband.”
✅ Kinship Uniting Services: registered NDIS provider NDIS ID: 4-GWVHCEY | 0437 733 744
✅ Serving: Blacktown, Marsden Park, Quakers Hill, Kellyville, Rouse Hill, The Ponds, Colebee and all Western Sydney suburbs
Nick Vujicic grew up watching everyone around him have things he didn’t know he would ever have.
Arms. Legs. The ordinary physical presence of a full body. And alongside that — though he did not always say it out loud — the quiet confidence that someone, one day, would look at you and choose to stay.
Nick was not sure that would happen for him.
“I definitely had doubts,” he said, “that I’d ever get married, that I’d ever meet anybody who would ever love me and spend the rest of their life with me.”
The way he put it carries the logic that shaped many of his younger years: I’m Prince Charming with a couple bits and pieces missing. Those things were important. I’d see everybody else has them. Why could I ever compete with all the other guys and ever find my princess?
That question — why could I ever compete? — is one that many people in the disability community carry privately. It does not always get said out loud. But it is there.
Then He Met Kanae
At 29, Nick Vujicic married Kanae Miyahara.
And what Kanae said about how that happened is, in many ways, more powerful than anything Nick said.
She had dated other people. She described going for the physical — the surface-level qualities she had pursued in earlier relationships — and feeling unsatisfied by where that led her. She was, by her own account, tired of that way of looking at people.
The moment she met Nick, she was looking for something different.
“I was looking for other things,” she said. “And all those things I found in him. That’s when I felt like, wow — he’s not only boyfriend material, but he could be my husband.”
Not despite everything. Not as an act of exceptional compassion or extraordinary open-mindedness. Simply because she was looking for the things that Nick had, and she found them in him.
The Reframe — Being Seen Fully Is Not About What You Have. It Is About Who You Are.
The assumption embedded in Nick’s early doubt — why could I ever compete? — is that love is fundamentally comparative. That there is a market for partners, and that the person who offers more in the conventional sense will always win.
Kanae’s account quietly dismantles that assumption.
She was not comparing Nick to anyone. She was looking for specific qualities — things she had not found in people who fit the conventional picture of what a partner was supposed to be. And when she met Nick, she found them.
This is the reframe that Nick’s story offers — not that disability doesn’t matter, but that being seen fully by the right person has very little to do with whether you have arms or legs, and everything to do with who you actually are.
It took Nick time to believe this was possible for him. There were years of doubt. Years of watching other people and asking the question he couldn’t answer. And then someone answered it for him, not with reassurance, but with a decision.
She chose him. Not as an exception to her standards. As the expression of them.
What This Means for the People We Support
At Kinship Uniting Services, we work with NDIS participants and their families across Western Sydney. We see a broad spectrum of what disability looks like in daily life — the practical logistics, the harder emotional terrain, and everything in between.
We also see, regularly, the way that disability can interact with a person’s belief about what they are entitled to want. Whether that is a job, a community, a friendship, or a relationship.
Nick’s story does not tell everyone they will find what he found. That would be dishonest. But it does say something that matters: the doubt itself — the why would anyone ever choose me — is worth examining. Because it is often built on an assumption about how love works that isn’t always true.
Being seen. Being known. Being chosen — not as an act of charity, but as an act of recognition — is not more difficult with disability than without it. It is just harder to believe it is possible when you have spent years being told implicitly that you are less.
Kanae wasn’t listening to that story. She was looking at Nick.
We serve NDIS participants and families across Colebee, Blacktown, The Ponds, Marsden Park, Quakers Hill, Kellyville, Rouse Hill, Stanhope Gardens, Schofields, Riverstone, Windsor and all Sydney suburbs.
📞 0437 733 744
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Nick Vujicic?
Nick Vujicic is an Australian-American motivational speaker, author and disability advocate born with tetra-amelia syndrome — a rare congenital condition characterised by the absence of all four limbs. He is one of the most widely recognised disability advocates in the world, having spoken in over 70 countries. He is the founder of Life Without Limbs, a nonprofit organisation focused on outreach and hope for people facing disability and adversity.
Who is Kanae Vujicic?
Kanae Miyahara is a Japanese-born woman who met Nick Vujicic and married him when he was 29 years old. In interviews, she has spoken openly about her decision to be with Nick — describing it not as an act of sacrifice or unusual courage, but as a natural result of looking for qualities she found fully in him. The couple have children together and Kanae has spoken and written about their relationship publicly.
Does disability affect relationships and the ability to find love?
Disability can affect relationships in practical ways — communication, physical intimacy, daily logistics and the dynamics of support. But the core of whether someone finds a loving relationship — being known, valued and chosen — is not determined by disability status. Many people with disability build deep, lasting relationships. The doubt that Nick describes experiencing is real and common, but his story suggests it is not prophetic.
How does NDIS support relate to relationships and independent living?
NDIS funding can directly support a participant’s ability to live more independently, engage in their community, and pursue goals that matter to them — including social goals. Community participation funding (Category 4) can support someone to build social connections and engage in activities where relationships naturally develop.
Daily living supports can reduce the physical and practical load on both participants and their families or partners.
How does Kinship Uniting Services support NDIS participants in Western Sydney?
Kinship Uniting Services is a registered NDIS provider (ID: 4-GWVHCEY) based in Colebee, Western Sydney, serving participants across all Sydney suburbs, the Southern Highlands, and nationally.
We also provide CHSP-approved aged care support in Northern Sydney. Our approach is built on consistent worker matching — the same support worker, the same days, building a real relationship over time. Call 0437 733 744 to talk about your support needs.
Written by Aishah Shah
Care Coordinator, Kinship Uniting Services
Registered NDIS Provider — ID: 4-GWVHCEY | ABN: 91 677 788 475
Published: June 2026 | Last updated: June 2026
Sources:
- Nick Vujicic — interview footage | Life Without Limbs
- Kanae Vujicic — interview statements | public footage
- Life Without Limbs — lifewithoutlimbs.org
📞 0437 733 744
✉ info@kinshipunitingservices.com
🌐 kinshipunitingservices.com
📍 39 Victory Rd, Colebee NSW 2761 | NDIS Registration: 4-GWVHCEY