While many of us were busy buying last-minute holiday gifts and stuffing stockings, The Real Housewives of New York City’s Leah McSweeney was getting a Christmas present of her own: a “new and improved” chest. The reality TV star and fashion designer took to Instagram on Saturday to share the news of her breast lift and augmentation, which she’d gotten four days prior from Dr. Daniel Maman, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City.
Cosmetic surgery wasn’t something McSweeney seriously considered until very recently. She got rhinoplasty in September from Dr. Maman; after a positive experience, she decided she was ready to address the changes that pregnancy, breastfeeding, and aging had made on her breasts. We caught up with the RHONY star during her recovery, to chat about her recent procedures and why she thinks it’s so important to be up-front when it comes to cosmetic work.
RealSelf: Why did you decide to have a breast lift and augmentation now?
Leah McSweeney: I’ve had amazing breasts since the age of 14. I mean, really— if you saw what my breasts looked like at 18 years old… they didn’t even look real. So I had large, naturally perky breasts, but obviously, your body changes after you’ve had a child, and I breastfed for 15 months. As I’ve gotten older, my body has just kind of changed. I now have a thinner [shape]—I used to be a bit more curvy—but it still wasn’t like I looked at my breasts and thought, Ew, they’re disgusting or anything like that. I mean, I was on national television with them completely out and had no qualms about it! I thought that they looked great, and I had no issue. But for the past 10 years or so, I’ve been thinking about it. I didn’t want them much bigger, but I wanted them to be higher up and to have a little rejuvenation.
I’m glad I waited for this surgery—and for the nose job, which was the thing I’d really wanted—because I wanted to wait until I was old enough to know. If I had had the access at age 18 to do things to myself, I may have done things that I’d end up regretting, but I’m a 38-year-old woman, and I think that at this point, I know myself and my body well enough to make a decision I won’t regret. It also seems like, in the last few years, the types of procedures doctors do have really advanced. So I’m very happy that I waited, and I’m very happy that I did it. And could I have waited longer? Probably, but I just thought, Why wait until I’m 40 or 45 or 50? Let me do it now.
RS: Did you always plan on doing both a breast lift and a breast augmentation, or did you consider doing just one or the other?
LM: I actually went in saying, “I want my boobs to be higher up. Do we put an implant in? What do we do?” And Dr. Maman went through everything with me. For a moment, I thought I’d just do the lift, but I knew I wouldn’t be happy with that because [my breasts] wouldn’t feel as full, since they would get smaller with just a lift. So I did a really small implant—I think we used 140cc—and I’m the same size I was before: 34C. It was really just about getting the volume back.
RS: How did you find your doctor, Dr. Daniel Maman?
LM: He actually did my nose too. I originally got his name from my dermatologist, Dr. Rita Linkner, and I knew one person who’d gotten something done with him. I was deciding between him and another doctor for my nose, and I went with him for various reasons, but I’m so glad I did, because he’s just such a great guy. I mean, you’re putting your life and your appearance in someone else’s hands, and with my nose, I was so scared in the past that I’d wake up and hate it—but I had such a gut instinct that Dr. Maman was the guy.
RS: Why did you decide to do your rhinoplasty first and then your breasts, three months later?
LM: You know, I have a mother who is like Miss Earth, all-natural, and she doesn’t even like that I get Botox. She thinks that I’m going overboard and just being indulgent, so I had to really take baby steps with her. I was terrified to even tell her about this!
RS: How did she react?
LM: I mean, look, she’s not jumping for joy, and she’s made me promise that this is the last thing I’ll do. She says, if I do one more thing, she’s not speaking to me again. But I think she just comes from a different world and a different time, and I respect it, and I get it. I don’t agree with it, but I get it.
RS: You chose to share the news of your plastic surgeries, not only with your family but also with the whole world. Why did you decide to announce it on social media, and what has the response been?
LM: People are going to say whatever they’re going to say, like “Oh, now that you’re on the show, you’re doing it.” But so what? Maybe if I weren’t on the show, I’d be doing it this year anyway. And if I hadn’t come out and said something about my nose, no one would have ever been able to tell, because it’s such a small, subtle change. But at the same time, it really upsets me—when someone like JLo comes out and says she looks the way she does because of olive oil, it’s just so freaking wrong. I understand that everyone gets to have their privacy if they want, but I just don’t see any shame in plastic surgery. I do think everything should be in moderation, and people definitely go overboard, but that’s why you have to be able to have conversations about it, because if you don’t, that’s when [it] becomes an issue.
RS: There’s been a push to destigmatize cosmetic surgery in recent years, and many members of the Real Housewives franchise have notably been at the forefront. Do you think your role on RHONY enabled you to be more up-front about your operations?
LM: I think it’s certainly enabled people to have an opinion on it! But I started getting Botox and getting my lips done at 30 years old. I’ve always cared about and been very obsessed with my skin, going to dermatologists and doing lasers and peels and all that, so this isn’t anything new to me. But I do think it was taking a plunge, doing surgery. You know, I’d never even had surgery before my nose, so in deciding to do [the breast lift and augmentation], a lot of it was that I’d had a good experience with my doctor and recovery—not that it was a walk in the park—and I felt comfortable getting my breasts done as well.
RS: How has your breast recovery been, compared to after your nose job?
LM: They’re so different. It’s very interesting because obviously, it’s a cosmetic procedure and it’s not lifesaving or anything like that, but you’re so vulnerable and you need help, and I’m a single woman. So I think with my nose, I learned that I couldn’t do everything on my own. It was just me and my daughter, who was helpful, but she’s a kid. So, this time, I splurged and got a nurse for the first 24 hours, and it really made a difference. Since then, my recovery has been smooth, but you honestly don’t even realize how often you use your pectoral muscles until you need them and can’t have them, so that part has not been easy. I want to exercise so badly, and I can’t—and that’s probably been the hardest part, with both the nose and the boobs. But otherwise, it hasn’t been that bad!
Related: These Are All the Procedures Bravo’s Real Housewives Got in 2020
