Heidi Montag says she “didn’t need” plastic surgery to transform: “I was beautiful before”

Heidi Montag opened up about her extensive plastic surgery in a recent episode of Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson podcast.

The Laguna Beach star admits that her beauty journey began when she was offered free services. “I was like, ‘Great, $100,00 in free plastic surgery? That’s great!’ But I should have stopped and thought about it. Because when [the doctor] told me about it, it sounded trivial,” said Montag, who felt misled about how intense the procedure was.

Unfortunately, invasive, 16-hour, multi-part surgery, with a total of 10 procedures performed in a day, is never easy.

“I almost died, they gave me too much Dulcolax [an opioid painkiller], and then they told Spencer I was dead, and he came down. Then they got me back and I was okay, so I guess after that life and death experience… I was so fragile and weak. It took me a long time to recover. I should go back to work and make movies, you know, my family was upset and a lot of things. So, for me, it was the toughest time in my career and my mental state, because I was really exhausted,” she said.

The promise of a free full-body makeover was too good to be true for the then 23-year-old, who admits she’s wanted breast implants since she was a child.

“I always wanted implants growing up. Because my grandmother had really big breasts. So I’ve always wanted implants,” she says.

But looming insecurities and a welcoming surgeon left her open to additional procedures.

“I was always made fun of for my nose. Then a plastic surgeon approached me at an event and said, ‘Oh, I can do it for free, do you want a nose or breasts? Work or what? Or actually, he had a rep come to me, a guy who works for a tabloid. And I said, ‘Sure. Yeah,’ I mean, especially if you come to me and market it, fantastic,” Montag recalled.

The offer from the surgeon would soon change the reality TV star’s life.

“If that doesn’t happen, I’ll never get anything. It’s like I’m not looking for an offer. And I’m actually very confident in who I am, even though I’ve always wanted that or just thought it was like no big deal,” she said.

However, during her initial consultation, Heidi became aware of a series of “flaws” that her surgeon had recommended she fix. Many of which she had never even noticed.

“He was like, ‘Well, let me tell you what I’ll do.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, what would you do? If we were down there, is there anything else?’ He’s like, ‘This, this, this, this, this, this, this and this? When I left, I was like, ‘Gosh, I didn’t know I had that many questions,'” she said.

Montague’s surgery was the subject of many tabloid headlines, in large part because of the amount of work she completed in one sitting.

“That’s why it was so controversial, that I did so many things at once. And a lot of people wouldn’t do that. Or suggest doing so. Like I think I was under for more than 16 hours, and I think they said no longer legal,” she says.

Despite the cosmetic makeover, Montag fondly recalls how she looked before the surgery, noting that there was nothing wrong with her appearance.

“I used to be pretty and nice. I didn’t need that,” she said.

Thirteen years after her surgery, Montag has a message for young girls who may be considering undergoing the procedure.

“Would I pay for it and then go through it again and do that? I just don’t want my worth to be reflected in my appearance anyway,” she says, before stressing the importance of determining your “why” before getting anything done.

“My advice to anyone would be like, ‘Well, what? Why? Why are you doing this? What are you thinking? Is this going to change your life?'” She said.

She also recommends not relying too heavily on social media when trying to develop self-awareness.

“You may need to stop looking at Instagram, or stop looking at [and] comparing yourself to other people …… It’s just going to make you miserable. No matter what you are, you shouldn’t be everyone else. You shouldn’t have to see how everyone is living their lives, what they’re doing, what their lives are like. You’re the only one who can be you,” she says.