The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Ngatikaura (née Draper) is still recuperating from her plastic surgery procedures.
“I’m done with surgery, for sure,” Jessi, 33, exclusively told Us Weekly at Clarins’ Sugar & Shine Galentine’s Affair in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 29, spotlighting the brand’s iconic Lip Perfector. “I’m good, but I’m still in the healing process, too.”
She continued, “I’m just going to let things settle and I’ll be good.”
Jessi revealed earlier this month that she underwent an upper and lower blepharoplasty, as well as got fat grafting in her face.
“I feel like I have to preface every single video I post lately with the fact that I am extremely swollen still,” Jessi said in a TikTok video shared on January 15. “I am three weeks post-op from my face surgery and this is not my final result and I don’t want anything thinking this is what I want to look like, so just gotta say that.”
According to the reality TV star, she underwent the procedures to remove excess skin on her face.
“My top eyelid, I was just having a little bit of creasing,” she said at the time. “I just feel like the skin pinch I did, I loved it but it was a little more subtle than I was wanting.”
As Jessi recovered from her surgeries, she faced an internal “identity crisis” because her swollen face didn’t look normal.
“I am three weeks post-op from my face surgery and this is not my final result and I don’t want anything thinking this is what I want to look like, so just gotta say that,” she added. “I knew what to expect but it still is kind of an identity crisis when you look in the mirror and you don’t look like yourself.”
According to Jessi, it was equally important to share her procedures and her self-confidence struggles.
“[Trying to have confidence has] been hard, but it’s been good for me to be, like, ‘You know what? I feel good about sharing this and being transparent,’” she told Us on Thursday. “A lot of people in the industry do it, they just don’t share the healing process.’ People don’t know what it looks like. I’m doing it and getting hate, but I do feel it’s important to be transparent. I’m working on the confidence, I’m in therapy as well, so I hope that’s helping too.”
Jessi also attributes her growing confidence with beauty.
“My mom does hair, and I do hair, so I grew up around hair and makeup and dresses and all that fun stuff. I’ve just always been interested,” she told Us at the Clarins’ Valentine’s Day event, which highlighted the brand’s lip perfector. “Since I do hair, learning new techniques is always inspiring to me, [as is] new makeup techniques. … I think if you can keep it fresh, it makes it exciting to get ready.”
Jessi has chronicled her highs and lows on Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which is currently filming its fourth season.
“People always say, ‘You guys are always filming,’ and it’s true. I will say, we’re [on] the reality show that never stops because our lives are so crazy,” she told Us. “Without fail, something is always happening in MomTok, and so, that’s why you’re getting those seasons really quickly.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives returns to Hulu March 12.
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