After trolls last month accused Millie Mackintosh of having 'a secret boob job', the star decided to write an exclusive open letter for Grazia about her decision to have a breast enhancement.
After 12 years in the public eye you come to realise that you can’t please the masses!
After a recent Instagram post whilst on holiday, it wasn’t a shock to me that a public discussion quickly arose around my newly enhanced boobs.
Over the last 12 years my face, hair, body and every part of my physical entity has been commented on in some way. From being told I look too thin, too old and haggard or even days after giving birth to my first child during lockdown “I had clearly let myself go and piled on the pounds!”
I was under no illusion it would go unnoticed, and I had no intention of concealing the choice I had made, with the full support of my family and after a lot of research. However, due to the influx of comments and the rapid conversation that quickly gained pace, I didn’t have the chance to share my story in my own way.
Being in the public eye is a double-edged sword! No matter which approach I take – being honest or secretive (and of course getting ousted) – someone will always have something to say. I personally feel it’s more harmful to have tweakments / procedures and then lie and pretend the results are achievable naturally.
Although I knew this particular journey would ruffle some feathers, it felt important to address the speculation, not to hide from it. The truth is, I am really thrilled with the results, so to hide my happiness around a positive and extremely well-informed choice, which has helped me to reconnect to ‘Millie before she breastfed 2 kids’ would be a complete contradiction and also harmful to my emotional wellbeing.
Most comments and messages I have received were positive but a few were cruel and unfortunately it is human nature that those are always the ones that stick in our minds. Even for a seasoned pro such as myself, sometimes the toughness you build in order to bat away the negative and allow the positive to counterbalance, doesn’t always work and the very personal hurtful comments seep in.
Like a lot of teenage girls, I was very conscious about my lack of growth and constantly comparing myself to friends, older girls at school and of course all the pop stars to Hollywood actresses that I idolised. Sadly, I was not to be blessed with the boobs I had so wished for, which lead me to try all the tricks to create the illusion of a fuller chest (two bras and as much padding as I could get my hands on – hands up if you did the same!). This along with a promise to myself that I would get a boob job at some point in the future after I had children and now felt like the right time.
What do my boobs have to do with being supportive of women and their choices?
It was always a part of my plan, however I didn’t realise at the time that I would appear on a show that people would fall in love with, which then offered me many amazing opportunities, but it would also mean that my life plans would be public and some people might have a lot to say about my choices!
The people who take such offence, will probably have friends, family or neighbours who have made similar choices, but for some reason they are exempt from receiving opinions like “You are being unfeminist by enhancing your body and having tweakments” to “you are setting unrealistic standards for other women who have had children” or even one of my favourites “looking ‘smug’”.
The narrative around people’s decisions to have cosmetic surgery just feels so outdated. What do my boobs have to do with being supportive of women and their choices? Surely feminism is about freedom of choice? I made my choice for me – not to conform to society's idealistic image of a women, but for my own confidence and how I’ve connected with my body from teenage years, to becoming a mother and now a woman in her mid-thirties.
After moving past all the haters, what I did find interesting was the amount of people that reached out personally asking how I found the right surgeon and did I find it hard to choose my sizings etc. For me, I had a few different consultations and ended up choosing a surgeon who was recommend by a friend. I liked how natural his work was and he understood that I just wanted to look like myself again (with maybe a little extra padding). So, I shared pictures from my mid 20’s and from there we chose the size that felt right for me.
Now three months on I’m really enjoying the new-found adventure and I feel like me again! I don’t want to influence anyone’s decision to have a breast enhancement or tweakments. Every journey is personal - all I wanted to do was be honest and share my personal experience.
So for all the supporters out there – thank you!
For those who reached out privately – I hope the information I shared helped you on your journey. And for the haters – I LOVE MY BOOBS! We’ll be seeing you around!