28-year-old London student admits £9,500 facelift to look like Bella Hadid was unnecessary

A London drama student who paid £9,000 for a secret facelift to get the “look of Bella Hadid” has admitted she didn’t need it.

Antonia Highman started getting cosmetic procedures at 18, before heading to Turkey in March 2026 for a pricey facelift and lip lift, without telling her parents.

via SWNS

The 28-year-old from Greenwich, London, said she was fixated on changing her appearance before the major surgery: “I started getting lip filler when I was 18, it became addictive. I just wanted more.

“It was a trend with Kylie Jenner’s lip kit coming out, I think I was quite influenced by that,” she said.

Over the next few years, Antonia said she became “addicted” to getting filler in her lips and cheeks. She ended up getting it all dissolved aged 21, after it migrated to different areas of her face: “It made me look worse than before, my face was saggy,” she said.

In the same year, Antonia decided to get a £9,500 nose job.

Explaining the reason behind the surgery, Antonia said: “I was bullied at school for having a big nose. I’d thought about getting a facelift since I was 21, but it’s not something I considered lightly. Obviously I don’t need a facelift, but I wanted that cat eye, Bella Hadid look.”

However, the London student said she received medical advice against the procedure: “Doctors advised me against it, but I finally had the funds to do it, so I thought ‘Why not? I know it’s going to make me happy’.”

She added that the, despite their advice, the surgeon said he would rather “do it for me in a safe environment, than me go somewhere else.”

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via SWNS

Antonia decided not to tell her parents about the procedure: “I didn’t tell my parents about it. I didn’t want them to worry, especially with me going abroad. I looked like something from another planet when I first woke up from the surgery, my eyes were swollen so much that I couldn’t really see.

“My mum called my crying after seeing pictures of how extreme it looked. She’s a bit more relaxed about it now that she’s seen how the swelling has gone down. For the first few weeks I had to wear tape on my face, people looked at me like they’d never seen a human before. I got so many cruel comments from people saying I look like an alien.”

She also said she received comments after posting about her experience on her TikTok account, but ignored them due to being comfortable with her decision.

The student says the decision to have the procedure outside of the UK had nothing to do with costs: “I didn’t decide to go to Turkey because its cheeper than the UK, I’d heard really good things about the doctors, and the techniques they used are so advanced.”

via SWNS

For the first week after the £9,500 surgery, Antonia said she could hardly move out of bed and had to get her friend to help her with her medication and cleaning her scars. However, she add that eventually she got back on her feet.

Antonia said she didn’t get the Bella Hadid inspired look due to body image issues, but because she wanted to maintain a youthful look.

Although the recovery is expected to take three months and swelling lasting up to a year, Antonia said she is happy with her results so far and has no plans for future surgeries.

Featured image via SWNS