“Real Housewives of Orange County” alum Alexis Bellino confirms that she had plastic surgery as she prepared to tie the knot with John Janssen. She opened up about the procedure less than two weeks after their Laguna Beach wedding and explained why she couldn’t wait until after the ceremony.
All About Alexis’ New Look
“I’m going in for this last-minute boob — not really an emergency, but kind of an emergency — boob job,” Alexis said during a recent appearance on the Two Ts in a Pod podcast hosted by “RHOC” star Tamra Judge and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Teddi Mellencamp. “I didn’t wanna have them done again. But by the way, they look smaller, huh?”
“I had a reconstructive boob job done because here’s why: My left side had encapsulated, so it was getting hardened and growing up here,” Alexis explained. “It was starting to grow up under my chin.”
“That wouldn’t look good in a wedding dress,” Tamra joked.
“But then, also, guess what happened?” Alexis continued. “My implant ruptured… It was kind of an emergency, but not really. Like, I wasn’t gonna die.”
Alexis’ Breast Augmentation Journey
Alexis opened up about the surgery in an interview with PEOPLE back in May. She has gotten breast implants four times, starting with her first set when she was 19.
“I was the first girl at the University of Missouri to ever get implants. It was the biggest deal ever. Everyone was in shock that I did that. And since then I’ve had three more,” she told the magazine.
Three years ago, Alexis developed scar tissue around her breast implants. “I had that corrected in 2022. Unfortunately, about six months after that surgery, the contracture started to come back again,” she said. “Most of the time, when you have it, it does keep recurring.”
Alexis started experiencing a “shooting pain” in her breast that she disregarded for some time because she wanted to avoid getting any more surgery. However, earlier this year, it became too uncomfortable to ignore.
“My left breast started to raise and swell to the point where not only is it uncomfortable and hard, but now it’s actually noticeable in photos,” she said.
Alexis was also experiencing new “bizarre” symptoms, like “numbness and tingling” in her arms that she “knew” she had to “do something about.”
Alexis said she had the corrective surgery with a specialist in Beverly Hills on April 15, which is when her doctor discovered the rupture.
“I’m so thankful because honest to goodness, if I hadn’t gone in, I would still be experiencing the numbness, all these aches. That silicone was actually leaking into my left breast. I mean, it was not a good thing,” she stated.
Alexis said she considered going implant-free until a conversation she had with her surgeon.
“My doctor said, ‘You have zero breast tissue, so you will not only have scars everywhere for all of the skin, but you will be completely flat.’ So I was like, okay, I don’t know if I can live with that, so we’ll just take our chances and pray,” she explained.
Her doctors were able to remove the ruptured implant and any remaining silicone. In the end, she received new, smaller breast implants and surgical mesh to provide support.
Alexis Still Has Regrets
“So no one has known this, but I want to be very, I guess, open or honest about getting boob jobs. It’s my fourth or fifth boob job,” Alexis began in an Instagram reel from October 31. “This boob is not happy about anything. Five months later, I had to put bags in. I’m just letting you know, don’t get anything done. I’ve told all my daughters, ‘there’s no boob jobs happening. Stay true, keep yourself, no plastic surgery…you don’t need to get a boob job at 19 or 20.'”
“I don’t want anyone to go through this,” Alexis concluded.
She went on to explain in detail the regrets she had over her surgeries in a lengthy caption.
“I was a spectacle but I also felt free! Yet now, at 48 yrs old, I regret it. I would’ve waited until after I had kids. I wish I could’ve been stronger back then,” Alexis wrote.
The reality star left her fans with some inspiring words of wisdom. “So what my NOW self would tell my YOUNGER self is …. ‘Alexis, you ARE good enough no matter the words teenagers throw at you. You are strong. You will make it past all of this and you will regret it if you change your body now. Wait. Be patient. Don’t listen to the noise and haters,'” she said. “‘Pause, take a breath. You are enough. And you don’t need to change in ANY way for what pressure society is trying to put on you.'”
