Source: Supplied by WENN / WENN
Tiffany “New York” Pollard is an open book. We learned that years ago when she first arrived on our TV screens for Flavor of Love, aptly crowning herself the HBIC of reality TV and forever a place in the culture. That openness and honesty remains 13 years later, including when it comes to talking about the plastic surgery she’s undergone both off and on-camera.
“I’m just a woman from upstate New York so I say that I’m not very Hollywood, I’m just very me,” she said. “It’s never really been my thing to cover up anything, good, bad or confusing in my life. I think there’s a lot of covering up going on in terms of plastic surgery, so that’s why I’m big about speaking out about it because I just wanted to take that stigma out of it: ‘Who got what done’ or ‘You better not admit that!’ Like no, I get that done. I had that done. Since then I’ve seen other women open up about it and it’s not so bad. So I think that was my big thing, to kind of be responsible to own up to the truth and now other people are doing it too.”
The 38-year-old star is set to star in the premiere of Season 6 of E!’s Botched, which will air Monday, November 4 at 10 p.m. EST/PT. She was featured in a past season to fix breast implants she initially had put in back in 2008, as well as to get a rhinoplasty. She is returning for the premiere because her 38GG implants are causing her trouble. When she initially decided to go big, she just always felt like very large breasts would be a “fun” look for her.
“You know how some women love their legs or their behinds? I’ve always known I wanted to have a really nice big chest,” she said. “I just loved the way big breasts would look in tops and things like that. That was like early on as a little girl. What was I, like 5 or 6? I saw Dolly Parton and I was like, ‘What are those?’ They just looked really fun and inviting, if you will. I always wanted to be built like that, so obviously, coming out to Hollywood, I was going to take advantage of that opportunity [laughs].”
But while they looked good to her, they eventually didn’t make her feel good. Pollard found herself dealing with breast implant illness that was causing her to feel loopy at times and even experiencing diarrhea. Breast implant illness is described as a term for when women who have breast implants self-identify different symptoms and autoimmune issues that they attribute to the silicone in their body.
“My illness started back from the very first set of breast implants I had, but I would contribute it to other things like maybe I was out partying too late, or maybe I ate something bad. I just always had to make excuses, or try to,” she said. “But I would have to assess my day and go, ‘What did I do wrong? Why do I feel sick?’ So I was always finding excuses because you’re not going to think it was the breast implants. The average person is going to say, I woke up out of anesthesia, my incisions are healed and the medication is working, I’m not in pain, so you’re not going to say, it’s complications and it’s got to be the breasts. Your breasts aren’t doing anything to hurt you, it’s that they’re attacking other parts of your system and you’re not realizing it’s the implants.”
Source: Courtesy of E! / Botched
After too many occurrences of waking up or going through the day feeling out of it, Pollard opted to go back to see Dr. Terry Dubrow about whether or not she should have the implants removed and what that would mean for her natural breasts and the skin that’s been stretched out over time. By the end of the episode, Pollard’s implants are removed, and not only does she feel more feminine, but she also has a different outlook on breast implants overall, at least her own.
“It’s important to say this: Breast implants are not for everybody but they are for some people. I’m always going to encourage a woman to respect her body and her temple enough to know the difference,” she said. “I’m someone who sat up there and had augmentations for over a decade in my life. There were some good days with the breast implants and not so good days with the breast implants. I think you have to know yourself individually. But I will say that now that my life has been enhanced because they’e gone, ‘Health first, ladies.’ If you don’t really want that implant or you’re on the fence about it, just think about it some more. But if it’s just something you’ve got to have, you’ve got to try, go ahead with it. But if you notice your health declining in any type of way, I would say go ahead and get rid of it. Put it in for about six months to a year, but if you’re feeling weird, then yeah, you have to go on and get them removed.”
All that being said though, Pollard’s not declaring that she’s definitely done with plastic surgery.
“I’m a woman that’s 37 years old and I’ve never been this person to go, this is the stamp. I don’t like labels. Even if I eat vegetables for a whole year straight, I’m not a vegan because I may want turkey one day. I’m not really good with capping off or closing off anything in my life, but I will say at this point, I’m very very happy,” she said. “My health has improved, I’m jumping rope, my energy is like I’m 20 again, so I don’t see a need for anything right now. But hey, listen, if I want to get something done in a few years, I will.”
Pollard’s appreciation for having work done has been widely documented over the years, and she’s aware that some people attribute that to her not loving the skin she’s in. She says that’s the furthest thing from the truth.
“Plastic surgery has nothing to do with having a love affair with one’s self or not having a love fest with your self. Love has nothing to do with it,” she said. “I think for me personally, there are some people who may struggle with their self-esteem and it could be that, but for me and a lot of women I meet, it’s to enhance. It’s like putting on an eyelash or going longer with your hair. I think people get a little freaked out about it because you’re going to sleep and there’s some risk there. But if you’re healthy and you go and choose your doctor wisely and you research and you’re not going overseas to do something crazy, there are healthy doctors and healthy ways to go about getting it done.”
These days, Pollard has a new energy, new look and new opportunities. She has the second season of her popular show Brunch with Tiffany on VH1’s YouTube channel, as well as two different reality series coming up in 2020 that she shot after having her breast implants removed. She’s been shocked at how well she’s been received as of late with smaller breasts.
“Now that my implants are out, I’m getting hit on way more,” she said. “It’s so interesting to me! I can’t even make it through the airport without guys hassling me now. I’m like, wait, this wasn’t going on when I was sitting up here a whole G! I don’t get it.”
When we asked her if perhaps the implants made her more intimidating to people, and if they might have also encouraged some to pre-judge her, a light bulb went off.
“You might be on to something there, because now even women will come up and say, ‘Do you have the time?’ or ‘I was thinking about this and that.’ I’ve got women, guys and children approaching me way more and they wouldn’t when I had those huge implants,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s more appealing to people or they can see my face finally, I don’t know! I mean, even the elderly are getting out of wheelchairs and going, ‘Hey! Are you having a good day?’ People just notice me way more now!”
