She underwent liposuction on her legs in September 2020 after discovering that she suffered with lipedema.
And speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Shaughna Phillips revealed that her mum, Tracy, followed her around with a mop during her ‘messy and long’ recovery from surgery on her legs.
The former Love Islander, 27, is urging people to host a Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, after they cared for her late father Eddie.
Grim! Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Shaughna Phillips, 27, revealed that her mum followed her around with a mop during her ‘messy and long’ recovery from surgery on her legs
Speaking about the surgery she had on her legs last September, Shaughna – who suffers with lipedema – admitted that her confidence has skyrocketed but she does worry that other people don’t think there’s any significant difference.
She said: ‘I had nothing to hide about the surgery. I would have felt like a fraud if I’d have turned up four, five months later with slimmer legs, and girls with lipedema be like: “oh she doesn’t look like me anymore.”
‘I do feel more confident now, but when I go out I do worry that people are thinking “ohh her legs don’t look that different”. To me, they look completely different.
‘When I look at old clips, the difference is amazing. ‘If I’d had the money before Love Island I’d have had it done.’
Ouch! The former Love Islander underwent liposuction on her legs in September 2020 after discovering that she suffered with lipedema
Real talk: ‘I don’t have plans for more surgery at the minute, but never say never. The recovery is long winded. You don’t walk out a supermodel’ (Pictured L in Love Island, R post-surgery)
Pondering any future cosmetic work, Shaughna candidly confessed that she’s open to the possibility but insisted that the aftermath of major surgery is not for the faint hearted.
‘I don’t have plans for more surgery at the minute, but never say never. The recovery is long winded. You don’t walk out a supermodel.
‘It’s messy and it’s long. Your wounds are left open to leak. My mum was following me around with a mop. She was changing my dressing.’
The Love Islander also noted that she believes it’s important for famous people, and those with a significant online following, to be honest about plastic surgery.
She said: ‘Yeh I do think it’s important. Just to make it an even playing field. “I got this because I paid for this”, basically. That makes people feel like it’s not unattainable, but also that it’s not real.
‘Everyone’s entitled to privacy, but when you have people looking at you… Like when I was growing up, if I’d known the Kardashians had all had plastic surgery it would have made me feel less insecure.
‘Like “ohh, they weren’t born like that, they’ve paid to look like that. It’s not real life” and then I could either move on with my life or research what they had done, if I believed it’d make a real difference to me.’
Discussing her thoughts on the latest – very racy – series of Love Island, which saw Millie Court and Liam Reardon crowned winners, Shaughna confessed it made her feel like a ‘prude.’
She gasped: ‘This series of Love Island was a lot more X Rated than my series! I didn’t think I was a prude until I watched this series.
‘With loads of couples going at it in the beds next me, I would have been running into the therapist’s office.
‘The next morning it would be like having breakfast with your parents after hearing them all night long,’ joked the stunner.
Asked about her own love life, Shaughna remained coy, insisting: ‘I’m just living my life. We’ve all been restraining ourselves. We don’t need to rush into anything. I’m just having fun!’
Oh my! ‘It’s messy and it’s long. Your wounds are left open to leak. My mum was following me around with a mop. She was changing my dressing’ explained Shaughna
Discussing the best and worst thing about becoming famous, the Love Islander admitted the most positive things are: ‘Paying off my debts and having opportunities I would never have had.
‘I don’t know anyone that enjoys going out and everyone knowing who you are. I don’t think I enjoy that.’
And, being recognised while out and about is something that Shaughna is only just experiencing, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She explained: ‘I still think things are strange. I didn’t really experience life after Love Island because I was out for 3 weeks and then went into lockdown.
‘Then everyone was wearing masks so I could be incognito. Now masks aren’t needed, when I don’t wear a mask and I’m noticed more than ever. It is strange.’
Honesty matters: The Love Islander also noted that she believes it’s important for famous people, and those with a significant online following, to be honest about plastic surgery
Opening up about what she has learned during lockdowns, she joked: ‘Not to bake banana bread!’ before admitting it has had an impact on her way of life.
Shaughna said: There’s so much that we were doing before that we took for granted. Just the commute to work for example. It used to just get you out of the house and see people.
‘Now, I definitely find it more of an effort to leave the house. I never used to think twice about it before.’
As the world is still gripped by the pandemic and unfolding unrest in the Middle East, Shaughna has begun tweeting more about her political stance.
She explained: ‘Before Love Island I worked in politics and wanted to go back into. Recently I was asked by someone in the political world to be interviewed, and I ended up not doing it just because I felt like it wasn’t right yet. That was really exciting for me.
‘I tweet about things going on in the world atm, because it’s one of my interests. It would be fake if I didn’t speak out about it now. If I offend someone, I stick by what I said.
‘Some people tell me I have no right to tweet about politics because I was on Love Island. But Love Island was only six weeks of my life – I did do something before then and I’ve always taken an interest in politics.
Doing the right thing: The former Love Islander is urging people to host a Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, after they cared for her late father Eddie
‘There are some exciting things coming up. People think politics is for middle aged white men so there’s only middle aged white men in parliament. I want more girls to get interested in it.’
Asked if her political aspirations reach all the way to the very top, Shaughna joked: ‘Yep, I’m going for Prime Minister – Boris needs to watch out!’
Shaughna is urging people to host a Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and help the charity continue to deliver vital services for people with cancer.
Sign up now at macmillan.org.uk/coffee to host a Coffee Morning on 24th September, or whenever suits you best.