As she poses for our exclusive photo shoot, Sophie Kasaei can’t hide her delight as she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. “I’m feeling so confident, and I’ve got my sexy body back,” the 32-year-old beams as she speaks to Closer. “For years, I’ve been conscious of my botched body and my scars from surgery, but now I’m finally happy with the way I look.”
Last month the star, who shot to fame in Geordie Shore in 2011, underwent a breast reduction, a reverse tummy tuck and corrective work to her Brazilian Bum Lift (BBL) procedure, in a bid to remedy her previous operations. She readily admits her quest for perfection, which saw her go under the knife several times, left her with a string of health complications and body hang-ups.
She says, “Don’t get me wrong, surgery has made me feel good at times, but it also botched my body during my twenties, and I made some ridiculous decisions. I look back and think what a silly girl I was. I went into it without thinking about the consequences or what could go wrong.”
At the height of her fame, the star underwent breast surgery to boost her cup size to a DD and admits feeling pressured to keep up with her fellow reality TV stars.
“I was only 20 when I joined Geordie Shore, and I wasn’t used to seeing myself on-screen. We were on TV along with shows like Made In Chelsea and TOWIE and they were full of glamorous, gorgeous girls and we were the polar opposites. We were known for being these drunken, loud lasses, yet deep down we also wanted to be beautiful and have that sex appeal, but society didn’t put us in that category. It was the era where the likes of Victoria Beckham and Katie Price made big boobs fashionable. I felt pressure to have that fullness in my bust, so I caved in and had surgery.”
But this was only the start of Sophie’s desire to up her “sex appeal”. Three years later and inspired by Kim Kardashian’s voluptuous curves, she underwent dangerous BBL surgery alongside pal Chloe Ferry. The procedure sees fat removed from elsewhere in the body and injected into the bottom, but the NHS warns this can lead to lumpy scars, infections and even fatal blockages in a blood vessel in the lungs.
“Everyone was speaking about Brazilian Butt Lift surgery at the time and the hourglass figure it gives you. We all desperately wanted to look like Kim Kardashian. I’d get messages on social media from surgeons in Turkey, who would offer me free work, and it was exciting. They’d tell me my body would look amazing afterwards and that I was a great candidate. I thought, ‘Wait, someone’s offering to make me look f--king amazing? Absolutely, yeah!’ I was young, naïve and I didn’t do any research and within a few weeks, I flew over there with Chloe.”
Although there are plenty of reputable cosmetic surgery surgeons in Turkey, this wasn’t Sophie’s experience.
She says, “When we arrived, it was the most rundown hospital; people were lying in the hallway, women were crying, and we felt so unsafe. The next morning, Chloe and I were in beds next to each other, and when the anaesthetic wore off, I looked her and said, ‘What have we done?’ We didn’t have surgical drains for our fluid, so when we stood up there was blood everywhere – it was like something from a horror film.”
But things became worse for Sophie when, two months later, she developed an abscess while on holiday in Mexico with her ex-boyfriend DJ Joel Corry.
She explains, “All of a sudden, I had a bad fever, my left leg went numb, and the pain was so excruciating that I ended up in hospital. I was wired up to machines, having injections everywhere and the doctors were running around shouting – I thought I was going to die. I was told I had a severe abscess growing inside my body, and if it burst, I would be dead. It was life or death at that moment, and I told Joel, I needed to get a flight home straight away. All I could think was, ‘If I’m going to die, then I want it to be at home with my family.’”
When she landed back in the UK, the star was rushed to have surgery, where doctors drained a litre of puss from a lump on her buttock. She was left with a huge scar and believes she has PTSD from her experience.
Sophie explains, “Essentially my body rejected the bum lift and it was so traumatic. I was left with an open wound, where I had to pack it from the inside. For months while it healed, I had a hole in my bum, and unfortunately it left a huge scar too which affected my self-esteem. It was an awful time and it made me think twice about what I’d done.”
For years, Sophie swore off surgery after her horrifying ordeal, but earlier this year she made the conscious decision to go under the knife once more in a bid to restore her self-esteem. After her breast enlargement, Sophie says her breasts continued to grow to an E cup and started to sag, along with her stomach, due to years spent crash dieting. The star has been open about battling with her weight over the years and has fluctuated between a size 8 and a 16 since being in the public eye.
Sophie explains, “Geordie Shore affected my weight and caused a lot of yo-yo dieting. For six weeks at a time, I ate a lot of crap, and I couldn’t go to the gym because we lived in a house for filming. I’d have periods where I’d gain then lose weight and it left me with loose and saggy skin. It became like a pouch at the bottom of my stomach, and I’d do my best to hide it. My old boobs were so gigantic, they were attracting the wrong kind of attention and started to look inappropriate. They kept getting bigger, the skin was stretching and my nipples would show through tops. They were causing me lower back pain and I just needed to feel some relief from carrying these heavy boobs each day.”
The star spent months looking for a reputable surgeon, reading reviews and going through several consultations before opting to go under the knife again.
She explains, “This time around I found a private surgeon called Dr Serkan Balta, who’s well known for doing uplifts and tummy tucks. I did my research properly, asked a dozen questions and didn’t jump into it straight away. I weighed up the pros and cons and took my mum with me for support too.”
The star had her breasts reduced from a 34E to a C, and had fat removed from her bum. “He immediately could see everything that was wrong with my body and promised he could fix it. He said my bum was like a shelf, my hips were too wide and that he could lift up the sagging skin from my stomach.”
And to say she’s delighted with her body overhaul would be an understatement. “I feel a lot slimmer and sexier with smaller boobs,” says Sophie who is now a size 6-8. “I’ve got a normal stomach and the boobs that I should have had all along. I’ve had years of trying to hide all this botched surgery and now for the first time I love how I love look. The pain in my back has completely gone too.”
Now the star hopes to warn other girls about the dangers of surgery. “I would urge girls to do the research and weigh up the pros and cons,” she says. “The recovery can be hell and affect your mental health if you’re not careful. You just look at yourself and think ‘What the hell have I done to myself?’ With BBL you have to lay on your front for six weeks and you can’t sit or drive. It’s not for the faint-hearted, and you need to be strong-willed. The risks of putting fat into that area are so dangerous, anything could go wrong.”
And Sophie, whose relationship with Joel ended in September 2017, admits her new-found body confidence has inspired her to start dating again too.
“I’m excited to go out there and show off my body! Most of my friends are married with kids, eventually I want to find someone who is husband material, but I want a hot girl summer first,” she says. “I was in a relationship for most of my twenties and I’m having fun being single. I’m not in any rush and will take my time to find the right guy. I just know when it happens for me, it will be amazing.” She laughs before adding, “I can just imagine later down the line, all my friends will be sick and tired of their husband and kids, and I’ll be there with my new, sexy hunk!”