‘I wanted to put my face back to where it was!’
It’s the second chance so many women talk about but never pluck up the courage to go for or admit to…
Not our Carol! Straighttalking as ever, she reveals exclusively to
best exactly why, at the age of 58, she went under the knife – AWAKE – for a dramatic new look that she revealed on Loose
Women last week. ‘It’s not about looking younger,’ she scoffs. ‘It’s about looking my best and more in line with the person I feel inside.’
Judging by the spring in her step, it’s worked…
Carol, you look amazing! How do you feel?
I feel good! I feel like I’ve just had my face put back to where it was! [Laughs] At 50 and beyond, you have the face you deserve, and I’d definitely earned mine! But, look, you could live like a nun your whole life and still not age well; some people just have better genes than others. There is an element of looking at your face in the mirror and if it doesn’t reflect how you’re feeling, it’s horrible! I’d started to avoid the mirror.
What do you mean?
My face just didn’t match with what’s going on in my head. I wasn’t losing the will to live or anything dramatic, but I felt like my cancer and the treatments had aged me a lot in the past few years, too. I started to feel like there was no point in trying to look ‘nice’ any more. I’d avoid make-up because I thought it would just highlight the nooks and
crannies! And I’m so lucky I could afford to do this, so why shouldn’t I consider it?
So why now?
I just didn’t have the courage before to go ahead with the surgery. My big worry was not looking like ‘me’ any more. I knew it would be OK, though. My friend Siobhan [ best’s editor] had the same thing done with the same doctor, but I didn’t have anything done to my eyes [as Siobhan did]. Just looking at her made me think, ‘ Yes, that’ll do!’ There was no light-bulb moment, I just thought, do it – it’s time. So I did. I had money in my pension pot and I took it out and spent it on my face!
What did your fiancé Mark [Cassidy, 35] say about it?
To begin with, he didn’t feel that I needed it. But now he’s like, ‘ Yeah, you’re right – as usual!’ He was worried for the same reasons as I was. Going under the knife for voluntary surgery seems mad. Having had to have knives cutting into my own flesh for an operation [for breast cancer], it seems like an insane thing to do. But, again, Siobhan persuaded me that I could get it done under a local [anaesthetic] and stay awake. Then Mark gave up because he realised there was nothing he could do about it!
You’re refreshingly honest about it…
What’s the point in hiding it? It’s obvious. I bet a lot of celebs have done it but just don’t admit to it. I don’t know why it’s such a shameful thing. You might be watching TV thinking, ‘ What am I doing wrong? How can they look so great at 55?’ and they say, ‘Oh, I drink lots of water,’ or, ‘I wear a sun hat,’ and it’s not really doing women any favours, who may think that by simply drinking water they can look the same. I had Botox for the first time years ago, when I was doing Loose Women. I thought no one would notice, but the day after I went on telly all these people on Twitter were like, ‘Carol’s had Botox!’ And I was like, ‘ Yeah, I have. So what?’
Why have it done awake?
Well, a local is less dangerous and has a faster recovery time than a general. But, oddly, I had a local and a sedative before the surgery and I was absolutely sparko! I can’t remember a thing. For the first couple of days I felt like I’d been hit by a lorry, but that was only three weeks ago, and I’ve recovered this much already!
How do you feel about young people having work done?
I think it’s insane, actually. No one having stuff done in their early 20s has a clue what their face is actually going to look like when they’re 50. They just don’t need it. I had Botox for the first time at 48, but I didn’t even like that, so I stopped. So young is just… bonkers. But at my age, if you can, why on earth wouldn’t you?!