The list of regrettable things the Real Housewives have done is a long one. They’ve thrown wineglasses, flipped tables, fallen into bushes after one too many tequilas, and, as it turns out, opted for cosmetic procedures that they’re ultimately not thrilled with. While the first ladies of Bravo are famously candid about the surgeries and treatments they love, they also don’t hold back when it comes to sharing the results they don’t. Here, five cosmetic procedures Real Housewives say they regret ever getting.
Injectable fillers
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 94%
Injectable fillers, both hyaluronic acid ones and biostimulatory options, can be used to restore or add fullness and volume as well as sculpt, lift, and contour the face. Results aren’t permanent, although hyaluronic acid fillers can be dissolved almost immediately via an injectable enzyme known as hyaluronidase.
Dr. Nicole Martin
In an interview with Page Six, The Real Housewives of Miami star and board-certified anesthesiologist said, “I have really moved away from fillers. Personally, I had a bad experience with fillers. I tried to fill in a little bit of areas where I felt had lost some collagen and fat over the years and I felt like it looked so unnatural in my opinion.” She went on to say that she ended up dissolving most of her filler “and will refrain from using [it] as much as possible.”
Shannon Storms Beador
The Real Housewives of Orange County star was nearly unrecognizable during the Season 15 reunion in early 2021; she responded to fans’ questioning by posting an Instagram video explaining she had gone overboard with filler. An episode in the most recent season showed her undergoing hyaluronidase injections, to dissolve that filler. “Last year, I put six vials of filler in my face,” she said in an interview. “Everything plumped up—and I still can’t recognize myself.”
Silicone lip injections
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 40%
Medical-grade silicone is injected into the lips (or elsewhere) on the face, to create a permanent fullness. This is an off-label use of this type of silicone and comes with a high potential of dangerous risks and side effects.
Lisa Rinna
The actress-slash-Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star is known for her extra large lips—and has been throughout her career. She had silicone injected into her lips in the late 1980s: “In the beginning, it was great,” she told People. But the silicone ultimately started seeping throughout her lips and created hard and bumpy scar tissue, leaving her mouth looking misshapen. In 2010, she underwent a reconstructive surgery that removed the leftover silicone. Just two months afterward, she told People how thrilled she was with her decision, saying there was “a huge difference. You can see my teeth when I smile now, which you couldn’t do for a while. I’ve been smiling these big smiles! My lip is back to being smooth!”
Chin implant
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 86%
A chin implant is a sculpted piece of material (usually silicone) that’s surgically inserted under the skin and molded around the chin. It’s permanent, unless it is surgically removed.
Jennifer Aydin
As the wife of Dr. N. Bill Aydin, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Paramus, New Jersey, this Real Housewives of New Jersey star certainly doesn’t shy away from all kinds of cosmetic procedures. But she wasn’t quite so happy with the results of a 2021 chin implant (performed in tandem with what turned out to be a very controversial nose job) while on a family vacation in Turkey. She told Bravo the chin implant was a spontaneous decision, which she attributed to the advice of both her surgeon and husband. Even though it was her rhinoplasty that caught the most flak from castmates and fans, Aydin said it was the chin implant that she never liked—and had it removed in early 2022. “I had a cute chin before and now it’s back,” she said in Instagram stories documenting the removal process.
Vicki Gunvalson
The ever-changing appearance of the self-proclaimed “OG of the OC” was a hot topic of conversation for most of the 14 seasons she was on the show. While the former cast member has never said she regrets any of her various procedures, per se, she has copped to regretting the timing, specifically the chin augmentation and nose job she had immediately prior to filming season eight. “I do regret having my nose and my chin done two weeks before filming four years ago,” she told PeopleStyle in 2017. “I thought we were going to have a break of two to three months, and all of a sudden cameras were up and I was like a moon face. I was so swollen and I couldn’t move my mouth and it was totally embarrassing. And that’s forever on DVDs for the rest of my life, so I regret doing that surgery right before we started filming.”
Breast augmentation
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 95%
Breast augmentation surgery changes the size and shape of the breasts with fat transfer or saline or silicone gel implants. While it’s consistently one of the most popular surgical procedures in the U.S., more and more celebrities are choosing to remove their implants, many citing breast implant illness as the reason.
Tamra Judge
The former Real Housewives of Orange County star has a long and complicated history with her breasts. In 2015, the then 47-year-old Judge told People that she had undergone five breast surgeries—a combination of augmentations, lifts, and explanations—since her early 20s. But during the summer of 2021, she decided to have her implants removed once and for all after numerous health concerns. She captioned a post-surgery selfie: “Implants & capsules removed. Feeling tired & a little sore as expected. I’m pretty sure not working out will be the hardest part for me. I know it sounds crazy but I woke up today with rosy cheeks, No sinus congestion and happy thoughts. I’m hoping I will continue to see health improvements as the weeks go on.”
Two weeks later, she posted a photo wearing a t-shirt that read ‘I liked my boobs but they didn’t like me’ with the caption: “2 weeks silicone free! Feeling much better. #BII symptoms improving daily.”
Emily Simpson
The current Real Housewives of Orange County cast member also said breast implant illness was behind her decision to remove her implants in October 2020, a process she documented live on Instagram. “I put in silicone implants 4 years ago, and I feel my arthritis and joint pain increased significantly after doing this. I researched and read a lot about BII (breast implant illness), so I decided to remove them for health reasons. Originally, I thought I could just replace them with saline implants… but my [doctor] informed me that even saline implants are covered in a silicone shell. So the only way to be completely silicone free is to remove them and not replace!” she said prior to the surgery, in an Instagram Q&A. She also cited weight gain, depression, and fatigue as other symptoms she attributed to BII.
Liposuction
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 88%
Liposuction is a surgical body contouring procedure during which excess pockets or deposits of fat are removed via vacuum suction. It’s one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures worldwide and is often paired with other procedures. However, complications such as seromas and hematomas as well as irregular body contours are possible, particularly if the liposuction isn’t performed by a board-certified plastic or dermatologic surgeon.
Sonja Morgan
The Real Housewives of New York fan favorite is known for unfiltered commentary about her body, including her various plastic surgeries. But in 2019, she told Us Weekly that she’s closed the book on one particular procedure. “Where I felt in this day and age I went too far is to do liposuction. I don’t think it’s in anymore. You don’t really need to have that. I just had the doughnut around my belly button taken off, but why bother? I mean really, why bother because people really embrace their curves now. I like when I lose a little weight and I like when I put on a little weight.” Still, she remains a plastic surgery fan: “In this day and age, the surgery and getting things fixed is part of my self-care,” she also told the magazine. Case in point: Morgan had a lower facelift and neck lift during the summer of 2020, after filming wrapped on season 12 of RHONY.
