Linda Evangelista's first photoshoot in five years
Linda Evangelista has debuted her first photo shoot since saying her face had been "permanently deformed" and her “life destroyed” after a botched surgery.
The 56-year-old supermodel has been living in seclusion for nearly five years after once being one of the most photographed women in the world.
Now, in a new interview with People where she also graces the cover, Evangelista said she is "done hiding in shame".
"I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know," the model tearfully told the publication.
"I can't live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn't live in this pain any longer. I'm willing to finally speak."
Late last year, Evangelista said she had been left "brutally disfigured" after undergoing a CoolSculpting fat-freezing procedure. She later filed a lawsuit against the company that owns the procedure for negligence and misleading advertising. It is alleged that the company failed to warn customers of the possible side effects.
Evangelista said that three months after the procedure, she noticed bulges in her chin, bra area and thighs.
"I tried to fix it myself, thinking I was doing something wrong," the supermodel said. "I got to where I wasn't eating at all. I thought I was losing my mind."
Evangelista said she went to a doctor about the issue in 2016, and recalled "dropping her robe" for him and "bawling".
"I said, 'I haven't eaten, I'm starving. What am I doing wrong?'" she recalled.
She had been diagnosed with Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), which is a side effect for less than 1% of CoolSculpting patients where the fat-freezing process causes fatty tissue to expand and thicken.
Evangelista was told that no amount of exercise or dieting would fix it. She is seeking US$50 million (approx. $69.4 million) in damages as she alleges she has been unable to work due to the rare side effect.
She claims that Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc, CoolSculpting's parent company — did offer to pay for liposuction to "make it right", but only if she signed a confidentiality agreement. Evangelista refused, and paid for two full-body liposuction surgeries herself.
Evangelista had to wear compression garments, girdles and a chin strap for eight weeks after the surgery in 2016 to prevent the PAH from returning, but she says it came back again anyway, and in July 2017, she underwent a second liposuction.
"I don't look in the mirror," she said. "It doesn't look like me."
The supermodel said that in making her lawsuit public and sharing her story, she is recovering her sense of self.
"I always knew I would age. And I know that there are things a body goes through. But I just didn't think I would look like this," she confided to People, saying she feels like the supermodel Linda Evangelista is gone.
She said she hopes she can shed the shame she feels and help others who may find themselves in the same situation as she did.
Images: Getty & People Magazine