Breast implants are practically a Hollywood accessory in our day and age, right up on the list with chihuahua dogs and green juice from Erewhon.
But while going under the knife was once considered the ultimate upgrade, a growing number of celebs are now doing a full 180 and saying bye to their implants over various problems.
Whether it’s for health reasons, body image shifts, or just a craving for something a little more natural, these stars are reclaiming their bodies, one explant at a time.
Below, we look at 20 stars who decided to flip the script on the Hollywood beauty playbook—from Victoria Beckham to Pamela Anderson.
#1 Clare Crawley
For Bachelorette star Clare Crawley, getting breast implants felt like a confidence booster at first. But health problems followed soon after as Crawley began experiencing unexplained autoimmune symptoms, strange rashes, chronic inflammation, and swollen lymph nodes, all of which left doctors wondering.
“I was having crazy health problems with no answers,” Crawley shared on Instagram stories. Doctors eventually discovered elevated white blood cell counts and fluid behind her implants, making her realize just how much her body was fighting back.
Removing the implants after five challenging years was pretty upsetting, but Crawley shared that she quickly found relief. Just days after the surgery, she reported feeling “really good,” pain-free, and finally herself again.
Image credits: Raymond Hall/GC Images
#2 Victoria Beckham
For Victoria Beckham, breast implants reportedly became a barrier on the runway to fashion royalty. According to The House of Beckham, a juicy new biography by Tom Bower, none other than Anna Wintour herself advised Beckham to “fix” her implants if she wanted to be taken seriously in the high-fashion world.
The Vogue editor, known for her razor-sharp style instincts and even sharper tongue, is said to have made the remark during the early days of Victoria’s fashion career, suggesting that “b**b jobs and hotpants” screamed Essex, not East Side chic.
Though a Vogue spokesperson has strongly denied the claims, Beckham did have her implants removed in 2014—a move that, intentional or not, lined up with her transition from pop icon to respected designer. In a 2023 interview, Posh Spice also admitted that she regretted having had breast implants, saying, “If I’m honest, I wish I’d never [gotten implants].”
Image credits: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
#3 Kimberly Holland
When former Playboy model Kimberly Holland upgraded to silicone ‘gummy bear’ breast implants, she thought she was enhancing her figure. But within weeks, Holland felt like her body was “on fire,” was breaking out in mysterious viral rashes, experiencing chronic dental infections, and developing Raynaud’s disease, which left her extremities painfully cold and discolored.
After researching her bizarre symptoms, Holland stumbled upon a growing community of women describing similar experiences: breast implant illness. Determined to reclaim her health, she had her implants removed, immediately sensing relief, at least mentally.
“I didn’t want to waste any more of my time or my health,” Holland confessed in an interview with Daily Mail. “I have a son who’s a toddler, I need to be around and be healthy.”
Image credits: kimberlyholland
#4 Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen is known for keeping things real, and proving she had her breast implants removed was no exception. After some fans doubted her decision, the Cravings cookbook author took matters into her own hands, sharing a candid, and censored, behind-the-scenes photo from the surgery itself. “Trust me lol,” she jokingly captioned the snap.
Chrissy first got implants at the age of 20 to advance her swimsuit modeling career. But years later, motherhood changed her perspective. “You have babies and they fill up with milk and deflate, and now I am screwed,” she joked about her breasts in an interview with Glamour.
In June 2020, Chrissy underwent explant surgery, saying she was ready to zip her dresses comfortably and lie on her stomach again. Friends even threw her a cheeky farewell party for the implants, complete with a tombstone-themed cake reading “RIP 2006-2020.”
Image credits: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
#5 Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson’s famous curves defined an entire era, but the actress now admits she regrets her breast implants. Opening up in a candid interview with W Magazine, Pamela pointed directly to her chest when asked if she regretted any decisions made “in the name of beauty.”
Her reflection comes from a newfound appreciation for natural beauty and inner confidence. “I know it sounds like a cliché, but happiness has a lot to do with beauty,” she explained.
For the Baywatch star, aging gracefully means feeling calm and peaceful rather than constantly chasing youthful perfection.
Image credits: Patrick Riviere/Getty Images
#6 SZA
Grammy-winning star SZA learned the hard way that implants aren’t always the perk they seem. After discovering she had a staggering 53% lifetime risk of breast cancer due to her family history, SZA’s decision to get breast implants took a painful turn. The Kill Bill singer opened up on the S.H.E. MD podcast, revealing she developed severe fibrosis—a thick, painful scarring around implants—which ultimately forced her to have them removed.
“I got way too much scar tissue because my breasts are too dense, and I’m not supposed to have breast implants,” she said.
Despite warnings, she initially went ahead with surgery anyway, only to find herself in chronic pain and facing serious health complications.
Image credits: Eric Jamison/CBS
#7 Mena Suvari
Mena Suvari tapped into global stardom after American Beauty, but behind the scenes, she struggled with body image and self-worth, which led her to get breast implants.
As she reveals in her memoir The Great Peace, the decision was fueled by insecurity, driven by a constant need to fit external expectations rather than her own. Due to health concerns and her desire to start a family, Suvari underwent explant surgery in 2019.
“I remember waking up and seeing the implants on a side table. It was wild. I put those in there,” she told People in a 2021 interview. “I just got to this place where I’m ready to just be me,” she added.
Image credits: JB Lacroix/WireImage
#8 Tamra Judge
Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge removed her breast implants not once but twice. Tamra previously told People that she had had five different breast surgeries since her 20s.
After years of dealing with thyroid issues, joint pain, and chronic inflammation, she revealed she underwent explant surgery due to autoimmune concerns.
“I woke up today with rosy cheeks, no sinus congestion, and happy thoughts,” she shared on Instagram. “Tired of being tired and inflamed,” she wrote.
Image credits: Denise Truscello/WireImage
#9 Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale’s breast implants may have started as a confidence booster, but they eventually became the source of some serious health struggles. The High School Musical star got candid on Instagram, revealing she had her implants removed after suffering from a string of mysterious ailments—including gut issues, food sensitivities, and a general sense that something just wasn’t right.
“I constantly felt my body was less than,” she confessed, explaining that she’d initially turned to implants hoping they’d help her feel more secure. But what began as a quick self-esteem fix turned into a decade-long lesson in self-discovery and acceptance.
In an honest post, Ashley said goodbye to her implants and hello to a happier, healthier life.
Image credits: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
#10 Crystal Hefner
For Crystal Hefner, breast implants came with a side of years of unexplained illness. The former Playboy model revealed in a Facebook post that she had her implants removed in 2016 after suffering from chronic fatigue, brain fog, pain, and thyroid issues that left her bedridden.
Initially diagnosed by doctors with Lyme disease, Crystal later discovered breast implant illness through online support groups. After her explant surgery, the relief was immediate: “My neck and shoulder pain was gone, and I could breathe much better.” Though recovery would take time, she finally felt her body was on the path to healing.
Image credits: Mindy Small/FilmMagic
#11 Danica Patrick
Having broken barriers on the track during her peak in NASCAR, racing legend Danica Patrick’s journey took a painful detour when the breast implants she got began wreaking havoc on her health.
Danica Patrick got breast implants in 2014, seeking the “whole package,” but years later, they left her battling fatigue, hair loss, hormone issues, and gut problems. After both implants hardened, she discovered she might have breast implant illness.
She had them removed in April 2022 and felt relief almost immediately. “I look more like myself again,” she shared in an interview with People.
Image credits: danicapatrick
#12 Genevieve Padalecki
When Genevieve Padalecki decided to get breast implants, she initially loved the results. However, just months after her surgery, Genevieve found herself experiencing intense joint pain, constant fatigue, and baffling inflammation that left the once-active mom unable to run more than a few miles without exhaustion.
“I couldn’t run. It was super weird,” she admitted on the Bathroom Chronicles podcast. “I’d jog two or three miles and my body would just be like, ‘No, we’re done.’”
After discovering her lymph nodes were severely inflamed, the mother of three, married to Supernatural star Jared Padalecki, realized her implants could be the culprit. Though initially hesitant due to conflicting medical opinions, Padalecki had them removed.
The impact was immediate in two weeks. “My body is not inflamed. I feel normal,” Genevieve shared. “It was definitely the right decision.”
Image credits: genpadalecki
#13 Adrienne Bailon
Adrienne Bailon got real on the daytime show The Real when she opened up about her decision to remove her breast implants, revealing the whole thing was about her confidence.
After starring in The Cheetah Girls, a then teenage Adrienne thought her career had peaked and chose to get double Ds in a bid to feel “s**y and womanly.” But instead of boosting her self-esteem, the implants only brought the Disney star a new wave of insecurity.
“I went from one insecurity to another,” Adrienne admitted. The exaggerated look not only clashed with her image in family-friendly roles, but it also made her feel more self-conscious than ever. “I looked crazy,” she said. “I was more embarrassed that people knew I was so insecure that I went and got breast implants in the first place.”
Image credits: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
#14 Heather Morris
Heather Morris’s breast implants lasted about as well as your average Hollywood romance: brief, dramatic, and ending with serious regrets. Initially brushing off speculation by crediting better bras for her suddenly boosted curves, the Glee star finally came clean: she did go under the knife, but quickly realized bigger definitely wasn’t better (at least not for her dance moves).
“It was hard being active with them,” Heather told Fitness Magazine in a 2011 interview, adding bluntly, “My chest was always sore. It hurt a lot, and I didn’t like being in pain—so they had to go!”
Image credits: ANDREAS BRANCH/Patrick McMullan
#15 Melissa Rycroft Strickland
The Bachelor alum Melissa Rycroft is embracing her natural self after saying goodbye to her breast implants. “My body was telling me they didn’t want these implants in,” she shared on Instagram, revealing that one implant never settled properly, even after reconstruction.
Now, Melissa is happily back to basics, joking she’s officially rejoined the “Itty Bitty Titty Committee.”
Despite some post-op aches, she said she’s recovering well and feeling good about her decision.
Image credits: melrystrick
#16 Rhylee Gerber
Rhylee Gerber is no stranger to rough seas, but the Below Deck star wasn’t prepared for the storm inside of her own body. After nearly 12 years with breast implants, Rhylee discovered one of them had silently ruptured, leaking arsenic and other dangerous toxins into her system.
“I’m tired of inflammation, random sharp pains, feeling exhausted, and bloating for no reason,” she candidly told her Instagram followers before undergoing explant surgery.
Post-surgery, the reality star revealed even more shocking details. Unbeknownst to her, the ruptured implant was “full of bacteria and toxins,” encased in “gnarly” scar tissue that fortunately contained the damage from spreading further.
Image credits: thelifeofrhylee
#17 Ayesha Curry
Ayesha Curry might be known for her cookbooks and candor, but even she wasn’t prepared for the aftermath of what she calls a “rash” decision to get breast surgery after giving birth to her second child in 2015.
In an honest interview with Working Mother, the entrepreneur revealed that lingering postpartum struggles and body-image issues pushed her toward a cosmetic procedure she now regrets.
“The intention was just to have them lifted,” she explained. “But I came out with these bigger b**bs I didn’t want. I got the most botched b**b job on the face of the planet.”
At the time, Ayesha said she didn’t realize she was experiencing postpartum depression, which showed up in how she felt about her body. Though she now laughs about it, admitting on The Rachael Ray Show that she “totally did” get her breasts done, the reality wasn’t so amusing. “They’re worse now than they were before,” she admitted.
Image credits: Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images
#18 Emily Simpson
Emily Simpson traded her breast implants for better health. The Real Housewives of Orange County star recently had her silicone implants removed after noticing a worrying increase in arthritis and joint pain, conditions she believes were triggered by breast implant illness.
Following her explant surgery, Simpson shared on Instagram, “I literally feel like a truck just ran over my body.” But despite the pain, she celebrated her decision by proudly debuting her implant-free chest, “That’s my real tatas. No implants anymore.”
Initially, Simpson considered swapping silicone for saline implants, but soon learned even saline implants have a silicone shell. To fully eliminate silicone from her body, explanting was the only option.
Image credits: rhoc_emilysimpson
#19 Yolanda Hadid
Yolanda Hadid turned back time by letting go of cosmetic procedures. To mark her 55th birthday, the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star shared an Instagram post celebrating her return to a fully natural self.
“Living in a body free of breast implants, fillers, botox, extensions and all the bulls**t I thought I needed…” she wrote. The decision came after years of struggling with Lyme disease, which led her to think about her health and the beauty standards that pushed her to change her appearance in the first place.
The mother of Gigi and Bella Hadid had her silicone breast implants removed back in 2016 after learning that the material had leaked into her body. And she’s not holding back about the toll it all took. “Beauty has no meaning without your health,” she reminded her followers.
Image credits: JB Lacroix/WireImage
#20 Karen McDougal
When your career involves gracing the pages of Playboy, breast implants might feel like part of the uniform. But for former Playmate Karen McDougal, implants turned out to be a nightmare she never signed up for.
Karen told People that she initially got her implants to feel “more womanly,” but quickly discovered the painful downside. Over the years, her implants were linked to mysterious and debilitating health issues, including thyroid problems, allergies, chronic illness, blackouts, migraines, and panic attacks.
Eventually, the model was practically bedridden, convinced she would pass away. Removing her implants turned out to be a life-changing move.
“My health is so much more important than breasts,” Karen said, finally free from symptoms she suffered for nearly two decades.
Image credits: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
