Jennifer Aydin's Cosmetic Surgery Journey and its Aftermath on The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Jennifer Aydin, a prominent figure on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, has become an open book when it comes to her cosmetic surgery experiences, largely due to her marriage to board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. N. Bill Aydin. The mother of five frequently uses Instagram to detail the procedures she has undergone, including a tummy tuck and back liposuction, and to document her recovery journeys. (Her enthusiasm for plastic surgery is so profound that she even designed a unique post-operative pillow.)
Just before the season 12 premiere, Aydin proactively addressed why she would appear different on television this year, explaining that the filming took place while she was still recovering from a recent rhinoplasty and chin implant (neither of which were performed by her husband).
"The photo was taken on June 14th (Teresa's pool party), four weeks post-surgery. I traveled to Turkey for my nephew's christening, where I underwent rhinoplasty with a chin implant and facial lipo with @drmustafaaliyaik. I am fully aware that some of you might critique my appearance tonight. I had similar thoughts myself! Remember, it was exactly four weeks post-surgery. My face was still swollen and numb, making it difficult to move, speak, or smile. My surgery was planned long before I knew about the filming schedule. Despite my fears about potential negative reactions and not knowing how I would look on camera, I remembered that I signed up to share my life, all of it. Instead of healing before filming, I healed during filming (in more ways than one), allowing you all to witness the process," she captioned the photo of herself.
However, according to New York City board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich, Aydin's appearance should have been relatively normal by the time filming began. "While the full results of a rhinoplasty may take a year or more to fully appear, it would look quite good on camera about two to three weeks after the surgery," he notes. "It's common with rhinoplasty to have some residual swelling that can take months to fully subside, but it's usually subtle and not noticeable to most people." Similarly, for a chin implant, initial results are visible within one to two weeks, with final results appearing after one to two months, he adds.
In July, Aydin shared more with Bravo about her decision to undergo both surgeries: "I've always had some insecurity about my nose, and I love how my pictures look with filters. I thought, instead of constantly filtering my face, why not change my nose to look like a filter?" The chin implant, however, was a more spontaneous decision, influenced by the recommendations of both her surgeon, Istanbul-based Dr. Mustafa Ali Yanik, and her husband.
In her latest Instagram post, Aydin reiterated that while she is happy with how her nose has healed, she never liked her chin implant and recently had it removed by New York City board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ramtin Kassir. (She even shared a video of the removed implant on her Instagram stories, saying, "I had a lovely chin before and now it's back.")
She also informed her followers that she would be posting personal video diaries from her surgeries in May in the coming days, warning, "I'm warning you, it looks awful." Indeed, the videos, posted on her Instagram story, show a barely recognizable Aydin, bandaged, bruised, and swollen.
"I look so terrifying. I don't want to FaceTime the kids. Surprisingly, it's not painful, just uncomfortable. I just think it's going to get worse before it gets better," she says in a video diary filmed the day after the surgery. A video taken two days later shows her significantly more swollen and bruised, but she shows some improvement by that night. "I made a video diary this morning, and I was much worse," she states. "I applied ice to my eyes, I've been using arnica and my beauty pillow, which has been a blessing as I can't sleep on my face – this provides the support I need. My eyes finally feel open. This morning, they felt so swollen, I felt like my eyes were shut. The only thing I could see was the swelling on my cheeks, I feel like I can speak a bit better. It seems like it's calming down, everything."
During the season 12 premiere, Aydin still wore her surgical bandages in several scenes. She also explained her decision to undergo the surgeries – and why her husband didn't perform them. "I visited a doctor in Turkey that I found on Instagram over a year ago, because after my tummy tuck last year with Bill, he told me I was the most challenging patient in the world, and he would never operate on me again," she revealed in one of her interviews.
Meanwhile, her castmates were not particularly supportive: "She looks completely different, she's unrecognizable," Margaret Josephs commented at the first cast event of the season. "It looks dreadful, I'm sorry, it's bad," said Jackie Goldschneider.
How much more of Aydin's experience and recovery will be highlighted on the show – and how the other Housewives and fans will react – remains to be seen as the season progresses.
