When Catt Sadler got a facelift, neck lift, and belpharoplasty (eye lift) at the age of 48, it was imperative to the podcast host and media personality that she still look like herself, only more rested and rejuvenated. After all, “I liked how I looked,” Sadler says. “I want to look like my mom and my dad. I didn’t want to change who I was.”
Leave it, then, to the person—or thing—that sees Sadler’s reflection the most to not recognize her. “There was a minute there where my face I.D. [on my iPhone] was not working,” she says with a laugh. “For months. It was like, We don’t know that person. Face ID not working. Then I would travel and think, Well, I hope they think it’s me in my passport photo. There’s a period there where you’re like, What face are we landing on? Which is kind of funny to think about now…”
Facial recognition issues aside, Sadler says the best part about undergoing major plastic surgery—other than the results—have been the outpouring of support and appreciation she’s gotten from both social media followers and celebrities.
“It was thrilling actually. The majority of comments were, ‘Finally, somebody’s not lying about it.’ Or ‘Thank God somebody’s telling the truth! Give her props for just telling it like it is.’ That was the overwhelming [consensus], which at the time was very rare.”
If anything, Sadler says the only frustrating part was that several people misconstrued the Glamour headline, which read, Catt Sadler Got a Facelift, a Neck Lift, and an Eye Lift at 48. She Doesn’t Care What You Think About That.
“A lot of the comments I remember reading were like, ‘Well, she must give zero fucks if she’s doing a facelift; why would you do a facelift? You don’t care what people think.’ And I think that that got a little misconstrued because I think what I said was, I don’t care what you think about my choice. There’s a difference between me giving zero fucks what anyone ever thinks about me. Of course, I care to some degree what people think, but that was like, I don’t care if you’re judging me for doing this. This was my decision.”
Read moreTV Host and Personality Catt Sadler: Why I Decided to Get a Facelift at 48
The former E! News host opens up about going under the knife for a facelift, a neck lift, and blepharoplasty on her eyes.
Regardless, it was a decision that Sadler is so happy she made and doesn’t regret for one second. “I joke that I have become this poster child for the facelift because I [talk] with so many women about my experience,” she says over Zoom from her home just outside of Los Angeles. “That was kind of the point. I love that my own experience opened up a conversation in a way that we can talk about how really layered this is. It isn’t about a scalpel changing your life, it’s about empowering women, and giving them information.”
And now that it’s been 24 months since undergoing all three surgeries, Sadler opens up to Glamour about the realities of her recovery process, why she still does Botox, and whether she’ll go under the knife again.
Glamour: When we last spoke, it was only three weeks after your surgery, and your doctor warned that a lot of women get depressed after major cosmetic surgery because they look in the mirror and don’t quite recognize what they see. It often takes six months to a year to fully see the effects. Did you go through anything like that post-surgery?
Catt Sadler: The short answer is no. I never had any feelings of depression. I definitely had anxious moments early on when I was struggling with my jaw. I was having soup during our lunch date and I had a little lisp, so I had some real worries about my speech, which was out of left field and nothing that anybody could have really warn me about. But overall, no anxiety, no depression. It just got better and better and better over time. I was a little self-conscious those first weeks when there was still swelling and I still didn’t look like me. I looked rested and my skin looked super tight and everything looked to be doing what it should be doing, but I was swollen for quite a while. I had tingling in my cheeks and was [impatient, like] when will all of this just completely settle?
When do you think it did?
Entirely? I’d say 15 months. Some of that was just the tingling feeling in my cheeks and near my ears, especially if I’d use a face roller or Gua Sha stone. The swelling took a year to settle where I could completely recognize myself…the super refreshed version of myself.
People are much more transparent now about what they’re doing to to their face and bodies. Earlier this month, Kylie Jenner opened up about her breast implants when a fan asked for details. How does that make you feel to be part of this sea change of transparency?
I love that a girl wanted to know every detail about Kylie’s boob job, and Kylie not gatekeeping that information. I mean, that’s how it should be. I loved that she gave every little detail. I’ve never had my boobs done, but I thought, “Good for her. Why hide it? Why keep the information to yourself?” I just love seeing that.
Everyone’s entitled to their privacy, but if someone’s saying they’re only drinking lemon water or using red light therapy to achieve what’s basically a new face, I’m skeptical that we’re not getting the full story.
Totally. I think it’s interesting because when I did my surgery, I was 48 and people wondered if it was too early and if was I too young. Then you cut to today and we’re talking about women who are younger than I was who may or may not have had facelifts, who look incredible. Then you’ve got Kris Jenner who is almost 70. I think women are really leaning into the science of it today. It can be safe, it can look natural, and do your research, but wow, the results are really that good. It’s available to us. That was all along part of my reason for sharing. Like, here’s what’s available, now you do you and whatever you want to do, and however that looks for you in your life. It is a personal decision, but it kind of raises the curtain and lifts the veil on what is possible.
How do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Let’s remember that there is no [cosmetic] fix in life for happiness. but I am very pleased. I love the work. I love how little makeup I wear now. I love the blepharoplasty in and of itself—the opening of the eyes—which really did cure what was bugging me, because I looked tired and a little sad. Now I feel brighter, more radiant, and I feel like me, which is great because I think I would’ve been really disappointed if I didn’t because I liked how I looked. I didn’t want to change who I was.
And I totally get what you’re saying; there are times where I’m like, Maybe I would be less self-conscious if I did that, or happier if I did this? But I also know it doesn’t cure everything.
I think every woman deserves to look in the mirror and like her own reflection. I think that’s such a gift to yourself. So much of this for me was an internal and an external balance. I had done so much work and continue to do so much work on my internal joy and peace and healing and all of these things. The exterior, it is nice to have it match. I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life at 50. To know that I can go in and go, “Oh, I’ve healed some old wounds. I’ve made peace with my past, I’ve forgiven some family members.” Then on the other side of that, I can look in the mirror and be like, “Wow, I got this amazing facelift and my skin looks fantastic,” and I’m just in such a good place because it does feel very cohesive and nice.
I’m so happy to hear that because you do look great. And yet, all that matters is what you think.
Thank you. And shout-out to my doctor, who is great. I still go to him for Botox, and when I’m there, he tells me he’s getting patients from all over the world now. Women come to him because they read my story. But on a separate note, I also think, still to this day, the price range for this is the other kind of sad part. Not that I feel guilty, but it is expensive and the average person cannot just go and do this on a Tuesday and not think about the financial investment. Now, there are ranges: you could get a facelift and say a neck lift for anywhere from around $40,000, upwards of $250,000. But just because it’s more expensive, doesn’t always make it better. I just want people to remember that when they’re shopping around or considering getting work done. At the end of the day, it really is about the skill of the surgeon. I know you don’t have to pay $250,000. I sure didn’t, so it’s possible.
And now people are saving their money so they can afford one when the time comes.
It used to be we’d save for a house; now we save for a facelift. I mean, welcome to 2025.
You mentioned Botox, but what’s the rest of your maintenance like post-facelift?
As far as maintenance, there’s very little I have to do. Once my staples were out and the scars healed, now it’s about preserving the goods. I have just some very, very faint scars on the back of my neck, so I’m diligent about my sunscreen. I struggle with sunspots and discoloration on my skin, so now I’m always wearing a hat and sunglasses. I look a little crazy when I go out and do my walks here in the mountains. I’m all wrapped up. Beyond that, I get Botox about every four months and I have a little bit of filler in my lips. But, with that said, I think a lot of people are dissolving their fillers because they’re learning that fillers will move and can change the balance of your face. I never really did much in my face, but I did dissolve filler in my lips because I was feeling like it was moving and that didn’t feel normal to me. So I dissolved all the filler in my lips, and I just started putting a little back in with a new nurse practitioner who’s amazing.
This is why I wish more people would talk openly about this; it’s a fascinating conversation and only helps others by sharing information.
It’s interesting. It’s fun. Our bodies and our faces are what we see when we look in the mirror, and it is so fascinating. I could talk about it all day.
Lastly, talk to me about what aging gracefully means to you. It’s a term that a lot of people use, but a lot of women interpret it as doing nothing at all, which I don’t think is the case.
When you and I talked the first time, I was studying midlife and aging, and I was just really questioning it. To your point, what does it mean? I don’t know that I knew I didn’t have an answer, but I knew at the time I wanted to give myself permission [to figure it out]. Aging gracefully doesn’t have to mean you do nothing. Gracefully can mean you are living on your own terms and you are unapologetic about your choices and that you’re living in your truth. I was considering that then. Now I can honestly say that is what it does mean to me. Also, I don’t even know that I love the word gracefully, to be honest.
It just feels like an old phrase now. I feel like we can throw that out altogether because I think it’s so exciting how aging is talked about today. We’re finally being considered, even as consumers. Back in the day, it was like The Golden Girls—you hit 50, you’re done. You retire to Florida. Everything is different now. Now it’s this second half of life and—if we’re so lucky—a rebirth in so many ways. I think that’s why my story resonated with so many different women. Not even that they necessarily wanted to go have surgery, but it was almost like I was giving them permission to unapologetically be who they want to be, and that is so freeing.
Absolutely.
That is why I’m not going to lie about who I am and what I do, because you almost detach from what that looks like for anybody else. They don’t have to get up and look in my mirror. They don’t have to walk in my shoes tomorrow. Aging is very, very personal, but I just don’t think there are as many rules as there used to be. Society cannot put those rules on us anymore. I can be 50 and I can be powerful, and I can be sensual, and I can be smart, and I can be honest. And most importantly, I can do whatever I damn well please. Full stop.
Does any part of you ever wish you had done this a year or two earlier even?
No. The only question I have now is will I do it again? I mean, they say a facelift lasts about 10 years or so. I remember right after I got it, I thought, “No, I’ll be good.” So I don’t know. I feel so great 1750259405. If I wake up at 65, let’s say, and I decide I want another one, maybe I will, who’s to say? But I don’t wish I would’ve done it earlier. I think it was right on time. I do trust the timing of my life and it has worked out perfectly.
The post Catt Sadler Reflects on Her Facelift Two Years Later appeared first on Glamour.
