LOS ANGELES (October 25, 2006) — Tara Reid is trying to reclaim her career with the Internet Halloween horror film “Incubus.” But why is she reclaiming at only 30 years old?
In an exclusive interview with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush, Tara said it is because of botched breast surgery, which for a while was her private pain.
Until one fateful night on the red carpet when the rest of the world saw what she wanted to hide.
“That was terrible,” Tara said of the incident that happened at Diddy’s 35th birthday party. “I became known as having the ugliest breast in the world. It was all over these Web sites. Millions of them.
Scarred and ashamed, there was no hiding Tara’s botched plastic surgery.
“I was already dealing with what it looked like. The last thing I wanted to happen was to have the whole world see it,” she said. “The actual center part, where the areola is, instead of being a circle, it turned out to be a large square. It was horrifying.”
“It ended up not circular?” Billy asked.
“Not at all. It was very irregular like a goose shape egg,” she Tara explained. “It was terrible.”
The apex of Tara’s unflattering run-ins with the media was a far cry from her 1000 girl next door breakout role in “American Pie.”
But she’s come a long way since then.
“Tell me about the decision to get plastic surgery in the first place. I think you were 28 when you did it. That’s young,” Billy noted.
“I originally did it because I had one breast bigger than the other,” Tara revealed. “But I also gained and lost weight so they were getting saggy and in Hollywood you have to look great.”
And while a nip here and a tuck there have become commonplace in Hollywood, unfortunately for Tara, she said she picked the wrong doc for the job.
“Why did you go with the man who originally did this job?” Billy asked.
“I had heard that this person was good,” she said.
“So you just went in and didn’t ask any questions?” Billy followed up.
“It’s Hollywood. It’s Beverly Hills. You think everyone is pretty good here and obviously I didn’t do the research,” Tara said.
And while Tara resorted to using makeup to cover her asymmetrical scars, there was yet another problem.
“At the same time, you got liposuction,” Billy noted.
“On my stomach,” she confirmed.
After the surgery, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Steve Svehlak saw Tara’s tummy first-hand.
“In a sense, it looked almost like a cobblestone road,” Dr. Svehlak told Access. “It was very irregular and bumpy with dents and high points. It was not smooth at all.”So Tara went back under the knife this time with a board-certified plastic surgeon.
“I feel like a girl again,” she smiled. “I walk out of the shower now and it’s like wow I’m back.”
Tara said she will not sue the doctor responsible for her disfigurement, despite the physical and emotional toll it took on her life.
“Did it hurt your romantic life?” Billy asked.
“Of course. I was embarrassed. I didn’t want people to see what I really looked like,” she said. “I had to keep it covered.”
Tara also opened up about her pre-surgery relationship with Carson Daly.
“Do you look back and wish the break up never happened?” Billy asked her.
“Sometimes, absolutely,” she revealed. “I think to myself if I had married Carson, I would probably have kids right now. Be married. I wouldn’t have had all that crazy partying. My life would be different. But if that was meant to happen, it would have.”
“Would you say he is the biggest love of your life?” Billy asked.
“Of course. I mean, I never loved anyone like I loved him,” Tara said.
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