Heidi Montag on her plastic surgery: ‘It was the hardest time of my life’

When Heidi Montag first went public with her extensive plastic surgery back in 2010, everyone was kind of shocked. She looked perfectly fine before and while her first stage of surgeries (nose job, boob job) were normal and arguably an improvement (although she certainly didn’t need them), she came out with a whole new face after the second round and a giant, painful looking rack. Her changes included a second nose and revised boob job, a chin reduction, lipo to her thighs and something she called back scooping or back reshaping, which I’ve just found out is lipo to the lower back. It was definitely a big difference, although the collective shock at her surgeries seems almost quaint now. It’s like we’ve become so used to seeing bizarre faces and giant lips that she’s just another reality star who had too much done too young.

Heidi was an unfortunate trendsetter at the time, and she knows this now. In a new joint interview with her husband, Spencer Pratt, Heidi talked about her plastic surgeries and said she didn’t know what she was thinking. This isn’t the first time she’s expressed regret at all the work she had done. These two are being interviewed due to the tenth anniversary of The Hills, as if that’s a pop culture phenomenon that needs to be celebrated. They have previously said that they’re broke, having squandered $10 million on things like personal security, Heidi’s failed music career, a gun arsenal and luxury goods.

[Heidi Montag] admits watching the show’s later episodes, when her plastic surgeries became one of the central storylines, isn’t something she looks forward to — for obvious reasons.

“I don’t want to watch it,” Montag, now 29, tells ET’s Ashley Crossan. “I think that it was hard enough going through it at that time and I was just in way over my head. I had no idea what I was getting into.”

According to her husband and co-star, Spencer Pratt, his naivete and lack of awareness with the entire process played a part in their spiral.

“It wasn’t something like, ‘Oh, how is this going to affect our lives?’ It was like, ‘Oh cool, you did it, right?’” Pratt, 32, tells ET. “I was thinking about where the next party was.”

“I would definitely say [to] women and men who think there’s such a thing as a minor surgical procedure, the second someone is hacking your body it no longer becomes minor surgery,” he adds.

While their friends and co-stars were out enjoying being twentysomethings in L.A. on The Hills, Montag and Pratt were dealing with far more serious matters.

“Everyone else in the show is in the clubs and dealing with this and that, and we were dealing with life-threatening, severe things,” Montag says. “We were just emotionally empty and spent at that point, and we just really needed support and set up a team, and not to be cut down by everyone…

“It was the hardest time of my life and I feel like I’ve become a lot stronger from it. And [it] made me look at myself and reflect, ‘Why did I do that?’” Montag says, with a hint of regret. “Maybe I needed to have more confidence and be more secure in who I was and not thinking so much about my eyebrows or my this or that…

“I think that I just became so consumed by this character that I was playing that I became that girl and lost track of this small-town Colorado girl,” she says. “I just love the simple life. I like nature, I like different things and I kind of became consumed in a different world.”

While Montag wouldn’t go so far as to say she regrets the operations she’s had, she wouldn’t go under the knife again.

“Regret’s a hard word because I’m trying not to regret things in my life because that can be a dark path to go down,” Montag says. “But I certainly wouldn’t do it again and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it and I have learned a lot from it and I just want to move forward in a positive way.”

It seems Montag and Pratt, who have been married since 2009, are stronger than ever.

“I loved [her] pre-surgery. I loved her so much,” Pratt says. “And I loved Heidi post-surgery. I fell in love with Heidi’s dancing, so the [surgeries] did not affect her dance moves.”

[From ET Online]

I do feel sorry for Heidi, however the “life-threatening severe things” she was dealing with were serious complications from surgeries she had which were elective and which she capitalized on. I’ve watched Heidi and Spencer for years and they pulled a lot of stunts, many of which unfortunately backfired on them. They’re entertaining though and they definitely were pioneers in the early reality show days. They could only ride that wave for so long though. Also, I’m happy Heidi and Spencer are still together. As cheesy as they are, they’re sweet and kind of perfect for each other.

Heidi and Spencer in 2007:
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Heidi in 2007:
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In 2011 after Heidi’s plastic surgery:
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Photos credit: WENN and Getty

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30 Responses to “Heidi Montag on her plastic surgery: ‘It was the hardest time of my life’”

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  1. BendyWindy says:

    It seems like her work has settled. She looks less alien.

    • holly hobby says:

      Yes it looked better than when she first trotted her new face out. She should really never do that again.

  2. Bridget says:

    I actually feel pretty bad for them. They may have been the early prototype for the obnoxious reality star, but their come down was hard. Heidi especially really believed her own hype (I still can’t believe she was serious a out that album) and whenever we talk about folks that are hired because of the number of Twitter and Instagram followers, I can’t help but think of her as the cautionary tale that following someone online is a huge difference from spending money on them.

    • paolanqar says:

      Well.. to be honest they weren’t so nice on their way up.
      I’d say karma got them.

    • Bettyrose says:

      I feel so bad for Heidi. She has to live with those awful choices forever. You can’t undo plastic surgery, and she found out too late that surgery us never minor. I truly hope she’s able to feel comfortable/healthy in her dramatically altered body and get some enjoyment out of life .

    • paleokifaru says:

      I always felt sorry for her too; she seemed so lost and insecure. It came off like Spencer was a jerk who preyed on that but in their recent interviews it seems like either that wasn’t the case or things have mellowed a bit with age. I know people will say she can do what she wants with her own body and no one can stop her/tell her/etc but I always thought Spencer sort of let her down by not putting up more of a fight against those unnecessary procedures. I’m sure that’s a hard thing to go through from both of their perspectives though. If my husband was really that unhappy with his appearance then what would I do? It’s just such a shame when people can’t see their own beauty.

  3. The Eternal Side-Eye says:

    I am always infinitely surprised they have stayed together this long/their relationship actually appears to be healthy and supportive.

    Shoe for every foot.

    • Kitten says:

      Yeah they are genuinely a good match and that’s not meant as a compliment or an insult.

    • hogtowngooner says:

      Me too! And it doesn’t seem like a “oh well, we’re stuck together.” They seem to genuinely love each other.

    • paleokifaru says:

      I agree. After the show ended I think everyone expected a divorce. Then a few years passed and I would hear the occasional story and it always surprised me a little that they were weathering the slide from fame and the financial problems together. Good for them.

  4. guest says:

    I thought that was Gwen or Kesha

  5. tealily says:

    It sounds like what they’re lamenting IS the fact that they brought it all on themselves. This is the first interview I’ve ever liked them in. Hopefully they’ve chilled out a bit.

  6. JustJen says:

    Really? I’d think looking at that flesh beard on the daily would be the hardest.

  7. QQ says:

    To me is crazy that they got paired up for publicity and they actually ended doing it for reals

  8. Wren says:

    It’s certainly interesting hearing them talk about it now. They sound older and wiser, and I do love how they’re still together and act very much like a team.

    For some reason I started liking them once the show started winding down. The stunts, the flailing, all the crazy stuff. I don’t even know why. Maybe because around that time they started showing hints of understanding, which they definitely have now, that the life they were leading was BS. Or maybe the crazy surgery and surrounding controversy revealed just how insecure and human Heidi was. Maybe it was how supportive her husband was even in the face of enormous criticism. I’d want my husband to stick up for me even if I was so low that destroying my face, which he loves, in the name of “beauty” was a viable option. I don’t know, but I’ve got a big soft spot for them.

    • HH says:

      Same! But I think what it is, is them finally being able to reveal it was all an act. Both Heidi and Spencer kept up their personas on and off camera during filming and for a little bit after the show ended. I think they were willing to ride that wave as along as possible. Once that was no longer lucrative (and they realized how off putting they were), they adjusted back to normal. It was a mix of doing something for stunts, and then getting lost and caught up in the hype.

  9. Kitten says:

    I feel bad for Heidi because she’s just not very bright. It must be hard to go through life like that…

    • paleokifaru says:

      I promise I’m not being snarky and this is something I’ve actually thought about in my real life with people who are not bright – do you think it is hard for them? I guess what I’m getting at is they don’t really know any other way and it must be nice to sort of oblivious to a lot of stuff going on around you, you know? I’ve certainly seen issues with finances for the dimmer people I know but I’m not ever sure they’re that aware of how bad it is for them and their future because they keep obliviously spending poorly and genuinely can’t think long term. A lot of them seem to absolutely trust in society or someone else keeping them afloat. Whereas I panic and think about being responsible and independent.

  10. Sarah says:

    If any of you are on twitter i HIGHLY recommend following Spencer. His tweets are amazing and life changing.

  11. Rhiley says:

    I never watched The Hills and only knew of them from the tabloids, but it seems that they are a terrible couple that should have never gotten together and shouldn’t be together now. He was on something that I caught a snippet of at the gym, maybe The Soup because clips of them often appeared on The Soup, surrounded by all these crystals and he was doing chants and stuff. Then I read part of why they were brokedy broke was because he bought all these f’in crystals. I think he used and abused her and that is why the way she is. I don’t buy his crap that he loved her before the plastic surgery. I think he hammered it into her head that she needed to go that extreme because they would make millions. He has her so brainwashed that her life is ruined, and they can’t let go because they are all that each one has. It is a sad, pathetic relationship.

  12. Goo says:

    Enough about it! Does this woman NOT have any other subjects to talk about? So vapid…

  13. Lex says:

    He is such an awful guy – so emotionally abusive! Alienated her from all her friends, was manipulative and controlling… She isn’t particularly intelligent so watched it all happen cheerfully while watching her friends leave her.

  14. Gia says:

    I genuinely feel sympathy for them. Hollywood is a monster and they got chewed up. It’s no ones fault but their own, but who’s to say how anyone would react to the allure of fame. It’s a scary business.

  15. hogtowngooner says:

    I’m always so disappointed when I see her pre-surgery pics (when The Hills first started). She was so pretty and looked “real.” Post-surgery she looked like a generic, dime-a-dozen, interchangeable, LA Barbie doll. Her mom was so sad because she could barely recognize her. Hollywood must be a tough place to live; you must be surrounded by people telling you you’re ugly.

  16. Lisatorner says:

    Remember when she performed at the Miss America pageant and then never performed again?

  17. Aurelia says:

    Remember when she was at lunch with her mother and heidi tried to break down and cry but her munted, tight, weird new cat face wouldn’t let her emote. Her mother was so shocked.

  18. april says:

    I always thought Heidi was a sweet girl. She was beautiful before and is still beautiful after the surgery. It seems much ado about nothing in regards to her face.

  19. Amanda G says:

    I don’t feel sorry for her. She wanted to be a fame whore and didn’t care who she stepped on to get there. She’s STILL clinging to her former friendship with Lauren to make money and stay “famous”. It’s been 10 years, move on. Speidi are pathetic.