Carol Wright has said she gifted herself cosmetic surgery for her 60th birthday as she wanted to feel “more comfortable” in her body.
The former The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) star, 61, had a breast uplift and reduction after feeling like the implants she had years ago had started to “overweigh” her.
Wright admitted she had been “very scared” about going under anaesthetic at “such a late age” but felt if she did not have the surgery now she never would.
Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, she said: “I did feel confident, but I just wanted to be more comfortable because they seemed to overweigh my body.
“I didn’t opt for these great big boobs that I had. I had them when I was younger after having three children, and they just emptied out, and I thought, ‘I need a little implant’.
“They lasted for so long, and they were great, but all of a sudden I looked in the mirror one day and thought, ‘If I don’t go for this before I’m 60, I’ll never have the guts to do it’.”
Wright said her implants felt “too big and heavy” on her small frame and were causing her backache.
“I personally was really uncomfortable when I looked in the mirror,” she added.
“I just thought, ‘I don’t want the position they’re in’. I wanted to feel more confident. I thought, ‘If I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it’.”
The reality TV star, who is mother to Towie stars Mark and Jess, model Natalya and footballer Josh Wright, admitted she had been embarrassed to tell her children but said her daughters agreed with her decision.
She added: “All I was worried about was going under anaesthetic at such a late age. I was very scared.”
Asked if she thought there was a stigma about older women going under the knife, Wright said: “Not really. In my eyes, if you want something done, why shouldn’t you?
“If it’s going to make you feel better, then go for it.”
Wright also spoke about her concern after her son Mark had to undergo surgery at the end of last year to have a tumour removed from his armpit.
She said they had not initially worried about the lump as her husband has a similar, smaller one under his arm.
However, once Mark’s lump started growing they became concerned, and she revealed she lay awake the night before his operation worrying if the tumour would be cancerous.
Wright added: “Thank god it wasn’t, and it was successful, and it’s been cut out.
“It wasn’t cancerous. It was very big though, very big.”
She confirmed that Mark is now “fine” and his surgery scar had healed well.
Loose Women is on weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV and ITV Hub
