Linda Evangelista opens up about the mental impact of cryolipolysis surgery that left her “disfigured” 10 years later
The supermodel was diagnosed with paradoxical lipohypertrophy (PAH), a “very rare but serious side effect” where the fat cells targeted in the treatment grow larger instead of smaller
“I still don’t look in the mirror. I don’t want to see myself because I don’t love myself or like myself,” she shared.
Nearly 10 years later, Linda Evangelista is still dealing with the mental impact of the cosmetic surgery that left her “disfigured.”
In a Harper’s Bazaar cover story published on Thursday, April 24, the 59-year-old supermodel opened up about the several health issues she’s faced over the past decade, including a double mastectomy, a breast lumpectomy, keloid scars, and cryolipolysis.
“I was OK with my double mastectomy,” she told the magazine. “I did have some very small implants. What they took out, I put back in, as far as cancer. Oh my gosh, I had so many lung surgeries, and my keloid scars, my chest tube scars, my C-section scars.”
“I’ve had so many surgeries,” Evangelista continued. “I’m fine. I’m fine with all of this. I won. I’m here. I won.”
The star also opened up about the cosmetic surgery that ultimately ended in a lawsuit, with her and CoolSculpting settling in 2022.
“I had to go to treatment to like myself in the mirror, but I still don’t look in the mirror. I don’t want to see myself because I don’t love myself or like myself,” she shared. “I’m working on it, working on myself to like myself, including my flaws, and working on loving myself.”
In 2021, Evangelista first shared her experience with CoolSculpting on Instagram. Cryolipolysis is a popular, FDA-approved “fat freezing” procedure that’s been marketed as a non-invasive alternative to liposuction. She wrote in a lengthy statement that the procedure left her “permanently deformed” and “severely disfigured.”
In 2022, she confessed to People magazine that she was suffering physically and mentally after undergoing multiple rounds of Cryolipolysis treatments between 2015 and 2016. According to the model, she began to notice that the skin in the treated areas began to swell and harden. She filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages, claiming that she was unable to work.
“I tried to deal with it on my own and felt like I was doing something wrong,” Evangelista told People at the time, sharing that she began dieting and increasing her exercise. “I even stopped eating completely at one point. I felt like I was going crazy.”
In June 2016, her doctor diagnosed her with paradoxical lipohypertrophy (PAH), a “very rare but serious side effect” that causes fat cells in the treated area to grow larger instead of smaller. Healthline noted that the condition is more common in men.
“I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’ And then he told me that no amount of dieting or exercising would fix this,” she told People.
In her lawsuit against CoolSculpting’s parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics, she claims the procedure “increased rather than reduced” her fat cells, causing her to be “permanently deformed even after two painful and unsuccessful corrective surgeries.”
In a 2021 Instagram post that originally filed the lawsuit, Evangelista wrote that she wanted to “move on, move on from the shame, and get my story out there. I’m tired of living this way. I want to walk out of the house with my head held high even though I don’t look like myself anymore.”
In other conversations with Harper’s Bazaar, Evangelista said she’s looking forward to aging despite the insecurities she’s experienced from surgeries and cosmetic procedures.
“I don’t care how I age. I just want to age slowly,” she shared. “No need to age gracefully. I really, really, really don’t want to die. I still have so much to do. I’m finally happy with myself and everything, and now I want to enjoy it all.”
“I’m alive. I’m alive. I’m alive and I’m going to do what I have to do. I’m going to fight because I don’t want any other choice,” Evangelista said in conclusion. “I’m not done yet.”
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