I got a £15k body makeover paid for by my ex – now it's Christmas everyday for my NEW man

The Sun

5 days ago

CHECKING the weather forecast, Melissa Jolly let out a sigh.
While full sunshine and soaring temperatures might be good news for most, for the mum-of-four it was her worst nightmare.
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'I dreaded summer coming round each year,' she admits.
'I'd cover up as much as possible, but in the heat, it was impossible.'
Previously happy with her looks, Melissa admits that since becoming a mum she had become increasingly self-conscious about her appearance.
'After my eldest, Lucca, was born when I was 20, my belly and boobs had changed for the worse,' she says.
'Then I'd had Annabel, and after splitting from their dad, I'd met a new man.
'We'd married and had two more little ones.
'While I loved that my body had kept my babies safe, I hated how it looked. It felt unrecognisable to me.'
Over the years, Melissa, from Manchester, had tried everything she could to try to lose the flab, from shake diets to strenuous workout routines.
But at 29, Melissa was still a size 16.
'It was my loose skin that bothered me the most,' the 32-year-old says.
I spent £75k to turn myself into a 'yummy mummy' - not only am I now more confident in a bikini, but a better parent too
'I tucked my saggy tum into big Bridget Jones-style pants while my 34E spaniel ears would be hoicked up in a bra.
'When I went for drinks with friends, they'd be in teeny co-ords and body-con dresses.
'I always wished I could do the same but instead, I donned a frumpy shirt dress to cover up my baggy tum.'
Shopping was out of the question for the mum too.
'I couldn't cope with changing room mirrors,' she admits
'So, I'd live in oversized tees and big jumpers, two sizes too large.
'I'd moan to my husband that I looked like a woman in my 50s and gradually became more depressed about the way I looked.'
Then, when Melissa's granddad passed away suddenly it made her take a new outlook at her life.
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'I missed him dearly and it made me think that life was too short to live my life this way,' she says.
'I wasn't happy in our marriage, so I moved out and we got divorced.'
The former couple stayed civil and took it in turns to take care of the kids but Melissa says that her body hang ups were still taking a toll.
'I'd always put my kids first,' she says.
'If they needed something, of course I'd go without. That's just what mums do.
'But I realised, I have to do something for myself.'
Melissa began looking into surgery to have her excess skin removed.
'It was pricey, but I was investing in me,' she says.
'Luckily, I had a pot of money left over from the divorce settlement.'
She came across a clinic with great reviews online, the Pall Mall clinic in Manchester.
When a friend went in for surgery and came out looking 'fabulous' Melissa decided it was time to take the bull by the horns.
After a consultation with Dr Prabad at Pall Mall, she booked in for a breast enlargement with uplift, tummy tuck, liposuction, and muscle repair on her stomach.
And it didn't come cheap with Melissa's final bill coming in at £15,000, a price she was happy to pay.
'I wanted to make sure I was in safe hands,' she explains.
'I only told a few people close to me what I had planned because I didn't need unwanted opinions.
'My friend Steph agreed to help out with the kids and change dressings.
'Luckily, she was a nurse, and so was my mum.
'They'd take care of me while I rested up after the operation.'
Only Steph had another idea of how she could help her friend out.
'One day, about two weeks before my surgery, she suggested that I go on a date with her brother,' says Melissa.
'I'd met her brother Will a few times, and he seemed a good sort.
'But we didn't know each other well. Still, we went on a date and had a few drinks and he was easy to chat to.
'When I explained about my surgery, he looked me up and down and told me I didn't need to have it done.
'It was sweet but I wasn't doing this for any man. This was all for me.'
The pair began dating and Melissa says that she still felt self-conscious about her figure.
'I felt self-conscious getting undressed in front of Will but he made it clear he fancied me rotten anyway,' she says.
'Even with my boobs hanging down round my middle!'
When the day of the operation rolled around, Melissa arranged for her two eldest to stay with her mum for the weekend while the two youngest were at their dad's so she could recover in peace.
Will joined Melissa at the clinic where the reality of what she was undertaking dawned on her.
'My stomach was full of butterflies as I was wheeled into the operating theatre,' she says.
Different types of weight loss surgery
For many people who are overweight or obese, they may feel they have exhausted options for weight loss and want to try something more drastic.
Weight loss surgery may be available to them on the NHS if they have a BMI over 40 and have a condition that may be improved with weight loss, such as diabetes.
But the availability of these procedures largely depends on where you live in the UK. People can also pay privately.
Weight loss surgery is a common and safe procedure. However, as with any operation, there are risks, such as a blood clot, a band slipping out of place, a stomach infection, gallstones and excessive skin from weight loss that in most cases, won't be removed on the NHS.
In all of the following options, the space in the stomach is reduced, therefore a person feels fuller after eating less food. They lose weight as a result.
However, it is necessary for them to also learn good eating habits and have a healthy balanced diet, too.
Gastric bypass
The stomach is divided into two using a staple. The smaller part is connected to the intestines, effectively cutting how much space there is in the stomach by half.
The operation takes around two hours.
Gastric band
A band is tied around the top of the stomach and inflated so that it tightens.
The operation takes three to four hours.
Gastric balloon
Patients swallow an empty balloon which is attached to a tube.
The balloon is filled with water via the tube, taking around 20 minutes, so that it fills around two-thirds of the stomach space.
Sleeve gastrectomy
Around 80 per cent of the stomach is removed in surgery to make it much smaller and a sleeve shape.
The operation takes between one and three hours.
'But I pictured my brand-new body as everything turned black.
'When I woke up, I looked down and there, under bandages, were my new perky 34G boobs.
'They were mountains compared to what I was used to and while I couldn't see my flat tum, I could certainly feel it.'
Thrilled but battered and bruised, Melissa recovered at the clinic with Will by her side before she was eventually sent home.
A week later, Melissa's drains were removed from her chest and with the help of Steph and her mum within another week she was on the mend.
'My bandages were off and, like magic, I was a whole new woman,' Melissa says.
With a new found confidence, Melissa bought brand-new outfits to accentuate her size 14 curves.
'When I pulled on a body-con dress with a huge cut-out over the midriff, I gasped,' she admits.
'Will took me out to a bar to celebrate, six weeks after my surgery.
'I felt spectacular and when I nipped to the ladies, even people I didn't know were full of lovely comments.
'I didn't care what blokes thought but all those gorgeous girls fawning over my figure was the cherry on top of the cake.'
Seven months on from surgery, Melissa says her kids are reaping the rewards of her new positive outlook.
'I'm full of beans, taking them on day trips and even swimming,' she says.
'We'd never gone to the pool together before.
'And on the school run, I'll be in little co-ords, proudly showing my shape.'
And it's not just the kids who are benefiting.
'With my new-found confidence, it's Christmas every day for Will in the bedroom now too,' says Melissa.
'This summer, I'll be proudly wearing bikinis by the pool.
'We need to ditch the stigma around 'mummy makeovers'.
'It's OK to want to get your groove back after having children.
'I feel sexy and empowered – you can't put a price on that.'
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