Linda Evangelista Needed Therapy After CoolSculpting Gone Wrong

In 2021, supermodel Linda Evangelista spoke out about alleged side effects she experienced after having CoolSculpting, a noninvasive fat-reducing procedure, which left her “brutally disfigured.” She revealed that she now has hardened fat in various areas of her body, like her thighs and abdomen. Evangelista sued Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc., CoolSculpting’s parent company, for $50 million, and the case was settled in 2022 for an undisclosed amount.

Nearly four years later, Evangelista admits that she is still not able to look in the mirror. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar this week, she said, “I have to go through therapy to like what I see when I look in the mirror, and I still don’t look in the mirror … I didn’t want to see myself because I didn’t love myself or like myself.”

Evangelista’s 2021 announcement felt like a turning point in beauty. Since then, there have been more reports of serious risks involved with seemingly “noninvasive” procedures. For example, “vampire facials” have been linked to HIV transmissions, and one woman claims that she went “blind in one eye” after receiving a collagen-stimulating treatment called Juvelook Volume in Korea.

The pressure to maintain youthfulness is relentless, and Evangelista admits that she still gets Botox regularly. However, it seems like the grip societal expectations have on her is loosening; she revealed that she went ahead and had all of her facial fillers dissolved. “I wasn’t looking like me,” she says.

“I’m doing the work, and I’m trying to get to the place where I like myself, flaws and all, and trying to love myself,” she added in the interview, going on to say, “I just want to age. It doesn’t have to be gracefully. I really, really, really don’t want to die. I have still so much to do. I’m finally getting comfortable with myself and with everything, and now I want to enjoy it.”