The former supermodel Linda Evangelista (56) was often seen on catwalks around the world, wearing pigskin luxury brands. In recent years, however, she has withdrawn from the limelight and kept a low profile.
Now the 56-year-old is finally ready to share the story of why she disappeared.
In an exclusive interview with People she opens up about how one specific cosmetic treatment should have ruined several years of her life.
This is the story of the 90’s big model icon
– Permanently deformed
Evangelista claims to People that she has struggled through both emotional and physical pain after she took several “CoolSculpting” treatments that did not work as they should.
The magazine writes that the treatment is a form of “fat freezing”, where the fat cells are to be reduced. “CoolSculpting” is approved by the US Government’s FDA.
Between 2015 and 2016, Evangelista underwent seven “CoolSculpting” treatments that she claims have made her body “permanently deformed” and “brutally disfigured”.
– I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread meeting people I know. I can no longer live like this, in hiding and shame. I just could not live in this pain anymore, she says in the interview.
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Last autumn, the former model sued the company Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. In the lawsuit, she is asking for 50 million dollars in compensation, which is equivalent to 445 million kroner. Evangelista claims that she has not been able to work after the treatments.
When the lawsuit became known last fall, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. did not comment on the case.
Got diagnosed
Three months after she started the “CoolSculpting” treatments, the 56-year-old is said to have discovered dents at the chin, thighs and chest. The areas she originally wanted to reduce suddenly began to appear. In addition, the skin should have become hard and numb.
Disappeared: – Permanently deformed
Furthermore, the 56-year-old says that she tried to fix things herself with exercise and a change in diet – in the hope of regaining her shape and appearance.
– Finally I got to a point where I did not eat at all. I thought I was going crazy, she admits to the magazine.
After a doctor’s visit in 2016, she is said to have been diagnosed with paradoxical fatty hyperplasia (PAH). At the same time, she was told that no diet or exercise routine would help her.
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According to People, PAH is a rare side effect that affects less than 1 percent of those who use “CoolSculpting”. Here, the freezing process causes the affected adipose tissue to thicken and expand instead of shrinking.
Evangelista says that the lawsuit and the reason why she is presenting her story now, is about trying to regain her self-confidence and self-esteem.
– Did not see the similarity
– I do not see myself in the mirror anymore. It does not look like me, she shares, adding that she feels she has lost her own identity.
– I do not recognize myself physically, but I also do not recognize myself as a human being anymore. I have somehow disappeared.
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