What to Know
After Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Draper Ngatikaura went under the knife earlier this month for facial surgery, it sounds like her healing process has been a slow one. This week, she shared an update on how she’s doing, and while it seems like she’s having a tough time with her recovery (especially with all the swelling she’s been experiencing), she received a lot of support from her fans already.
Jessi underwent more than one procedure.
@_justjessiiii A long little chit chat about my facial surgery 🫶🏼
♬ original sound – Jessi Draper
In her first video about the surgery, which she shared last week, Jessi said that she had undergone an upper bleph (or a surgery that removes extra skin or fat from the eyelids, often resulting in a younger appearance) and swapped out her facial fillers for a fat graft from her outer thighs that were then injected into her face. It’s intended to help her produce more collagen, though she is experiencing a good bit of swelling because of it.
“You can’t speed up the recovery process. It’s a 5-6 week process before you feel like yourself again, but it’s like 3-6 months before it fully settles in,” she explained, adding that this will be the “last surgery” she has for a long time.
She admitted that she’s having a bit of an “identity crisis.”
Her appearance has definitely changed, and with all the swelling, it’s a far cry from where she wants to be when she’s completely healed.
“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,” Jessie said, later admitting, “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.”
She did have to make a trip back to the doctor, though.
@_justjessiiii The internet sucks, but I’m going to continue to share regardless 🫶🏼
♬ original sound – Jessi Draper
In Jessi’s latest surgery update, which she shared on TikTok on Wednesday, the reality star said she was still having so much inflammation in her face that she was off to the doctor to get steroid shots to help her with the healing process.
“Believe it or not, this is not how I want to look,” she told the camera. “I’m still healing, I’m still swollen. This is not the look I’m going for, it’s just part of the process.”
Her comments were filled with support from her fans, with one writing, “I appreciate all your transparency! It’s really hard to come on the Internet and subject yourself to so many comments. I just want you to know that your honesty about everything is really refreshing and I love watching your journey.”
However long it takes, hopefully the end result will be exactly what Jessi is hoping for.
