Dubliner decided to tackle plastic surgery ‘addiction' in new TV series
Irish influencer Alan McGarry's TV show probes why they 'needed' so much cosmetic work on their face and body
Dubliner Alan McGarry (37), who identifies as non-binary, is the only non-American in the NBC/Hayu series Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind.
Michelle Visage, who first found fame on RuPaul's Drag Race and later featured on Ireland's Got Talent and Strictly Come Dancing, is the presenter of the show, which also features renowned plastic surgeon Dr Terry Dubrow and body image expert Dr Spirit.
The series follows nine celebrities and social media influencers through a journey of self-discovery at the 'Rewind Retreat,' as they decide whether to reverse previous plastic surgeries and return to a more natural look.
The participants included Aubrey O'Day, who is a singer and reality TV personality known for the girl group Danity Kane, and reality star Kim Zolciak, who was an original cast member of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Dubliner Alan McGarry
'I went on the show because I had a BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift) nearly two years ago and I just thought to myself 'why did I get it done, was it to try and fit in, was it to try to more popular?'' explains social media influencer Alan, who hails from Cherry Orchard in Dublin.
'I just don't know why I got it done. I never had any complications, thank God, they did a really great job. I had a great surgeon, but for me, I just don't know why I got it done. It was just probably because I was so influenced by people getting it done, I just thought 'why not?'
'I just got it done because I was just influenced by it and then I went in with the fillers. When I look back on it now, I went very extreme with the fillers.'
Alan got their fillers done mainly for free in return for advertising the service on social media.
'Lip fillers are so expensive, nowadays they can be anything from €250 to €300. Botox could be anything from €300 to €400. Threads are quite expensive, they could be anything from €600 to €1,000. Cheek fillers and jawline fillers are always a bit dearer, so you're probably talking about a grand at least,' they explain.
'I was consistently injecting my lips every couple of months. I was getting cheek filler, I was getting jawline filler, I was getting threads, I was getting intensive facials.
'It was just an addiction. I had liposuction twice, a BBL once. Consistent lip fillers, it's endless. I was so addicted that I was going in every couple of months getting my lips and cheeks done, and when you're an influencer in the public eye, sometimes things are handed to you and I think that's why I was just doing it, I was getting it for nothing. I just thought 'why not' and it was no cost to them, except it was a cost to me, because it was my face I was injecting.'
Alan confirms they were picked on when they were younger while growing up in the Ballyfermot area. Read more
'Growing up, ginger and gay and flamboyant, and now that I identify now as non-binary I know now who I am,' they reflect.
'But growing up in an area like that... [people] weren't really used to people like me. I think I wanted to be accepted.
'And being picked on for being gay and being ugly and a little bit chubby.
'Things have changed, but when I grew up I was always picked on for just being ginger, and at the time being gay, so that's probably one of the reasons why I started to alter my look.'
Alan confirms they have suffered from homophobia.
'I get it all the time because of the way I look, people snigger and laugh. People nowadays, especially younger people, have no fear in them, and I would be a little bit more cautious and nervous leaving my house, because there's just no law, people are not caring what they say to people,' they say. 'I still get the homophobic abuse, I still get the sneers. I think people look at me and don't know whether I'm female or male... why do I have to tell somebody who I identify as?
'I try and say it's water off a duck's back, but I can't lie, I'm human. I suppose it does affect me.'
Alan enjoyed their time on the show.
'Michelle Visage is like the mother of all mothers, she's the most genuine, nicest person you could ever meet. Of course, when you first meet her it is a little intimidating because it is Michelle Visage, but she is a very nice person, you can actually sit down and have a chat with her,' they beam.
They also bonded with the other participants, especially reality TV star Kim Zolciak and her daughter Brielle.
Alan, who is single, said he did not form a romantic connection on the show with social media star Sebastian Balls.
'No not my type at all, a lovely person, really nice, lives a great life in LA for sure. I was hoping that when I got a little bit of contact from a casting producer before I went into the house, 'are you looking for love?' I said I wouldn't rule it out,' they reflect.
'I was hoping it was going to be somebody dark, tall and handsome. I'm not saying he's good looking, but just not my type.'
Alan, who has previously taken part in other reality TV shows such as Pulling With My Parents, Blind Date and Eating With The Enemy, is open to more options.
'I would like to settle down. I would like to have maybe a career change and maybe a country change,' they ponder.
'On the show, I went back to my natural colour. It wasn't something I thought about before I went into the house. It was the fact when I was there and I spoke about it, it made me realise that the real me, it's not about the BBL, it's about what I had been doing with my public appearance, the makeup, the hair, the tan, the fillers, the aesthetics. I think that was more what I needed to find out,' they explain.
'I needed to find out who the real me was. I think stripping the black out and going back to my natural colour, that was the real story about me, finding the real me.
'Since I've had them [fillers] all dissolved and got rid of them on the show, I think my face is so much better, and I think a lot of people said it to me. It just makes me a little bit more normal.
'I look back on some images of myself and oh my God, I looked shocking, my cheeks were really high up. At one stage a lot of my filler was going up to my temple, it was overfilled. Some of my filler was going up to the top of my lip, up to my nose. It was just an addiction that I couldn't stop. It was making my face so much wider and so much clumpier. It's something I didn't need at the time. I'm happy now that I'm going for the subtle look.
'I'm not going to say no to a bit of Botox, because I don't want any lines. But the lip fillers and all that stuff, I don't think I will be touching it for a long time.'
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The 42
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