The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Ngatikaura has shared her personal journey through the recovery process following her recent plastic surgery.

On Thursday, January 15, the 33-year-old took to TikTok to discuss her experience with facial surgery. “I’ve been feeling the need to start every video by mentioning that I’m still very swollen,” she noted. “It’s been three weeks since my surgery, and this isn’t the final outcome. I don’t want anyone thinking this is my desired look, so I just have to clarify that.”

Ngatikaura further elaborated on the emotional toll of the healing process, saying it left her feeling unsettled. “Even though I knew what to expect, it’s still a bit of an identity crisis when you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror,” she confessed. She mentioned that improvement often requires enduring a period of looking worse.

She revealed undergoing both upper and lower blepharoplasty, a procedure aimed at removing excess skin from the eyelids. “I had some creasing on my upper eyelid,” she explained, adding that applying eyeshadow used to tug on her lids. She also mentioned that her previous “skin pinch” on the lower lids was enhanced through the surgery. “I liked the skin pinch, but it was subtler than I had hoped for.”

Jessi Ngatikaura, known for her role on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, has openly discussed her eyelid surgery as she continues to recover. In a TikTok video posted on Friday, October 10, she spoke about her experience six weeks post-procedure, clarifying, “It wasn’t a full blepharoplasty,” and reflecting on the adjustments she made.

Ngatikaura shared that her eyelids weren’t the only work that she got done. “The reason I am so swollen and the reason I look different is that I also did some fat grafting,” she said. Ngatikaura revealed that she dissolved all of her facial fillers and opted to use fat instead, to help “produce collagen” in the areas she had lost weight in her face.

Ngatikaura’s doctor took fat from her outer thighs through a liposuction procedure. They then injected it into her face. In the first few weeks, Ngatikaura shared that she looked “terrifying” while recovering.

Something that she’s noticed since getting her eyelids done is that her makeup “goes on better” and her lashes look even longer.

Ngatikaura shared that her swelling has migrated down to her chin, but she managed it with steroid medications and shots. She also got lymphatic drainage facials and her thyroid tested. “You can’t speed up the recovery process. It’s a 5-6 week process before you feel like yourself again, but it’s like 3-6 months before it fully settles in,” she added.

@_justjessiiii

A long little chit chat about my facial surgery 🫶🏼

♬ original sound – Jessi Draper

Ngatikaura also gushed that after the surgery, her skin will be more glowy, and have a more contoured appernace. She assured fans that it’s “essentially the same thing as getting filler,” but even better because it doesn’t migrate.

“The thing with plastic surgery is that it’s everyone’s own prerogative,” she said. “I know that I have insecurities, but especially being on TV, it’s heightened. “Its OK to tweak a few things you don’t like about yourself. And if that gives you confidence, why the hell not?!”

Ngatikaura concluded her video by sharing this was the “last surgery” she has planned until she wants “a face lift in [her] 50s.”

“A long little chit chat about my facial surgery 🫶🏼,” Ngatikaura captioned the post. Her Mormon Wives costars, friends and fans praised her honesty in the comments section.

“You’re beautiful with or without any work done. I love that you do what feels right for you. Always proud of you ❤️,” her husband Jordan Ngatikaura wrote. Miranda Hope added, “You look beautiful jess💕.” Bunnie XO also commented, “This makes me feel so much better about getting mine in March- I can’t wait to see your finished results- they’re going to be beautiful!” More of her followers added, “Can we all appreciate how open and transparent she is 👏👏👏👏 love her.” 

Jessi has been candid about her plastic surgery journey in the past, sharing that she’s had a breast augmentation, a labiaplasty and a nose job to reduce the size of her nostrils.

The Secret Wives of Mormon Wives’ Jessi Ngatikaura is keeping it real with fans, opening up about why she underwent a popular cosmetic procedure. Jessi, 33, explained to her followers why she opted for a pinch blepharoplasty, which removes excess skin from the lower eyelids, via TikTok on Friday, August 15. “It basically just takes […]

During season 1 of Mormon Wives, Jessi told her castmates that she was getting a “mommy makeover.”

“They’re cutting it all off, tightening it back up,” she explained. “A labiaplasty basically takes the inside of your vagina, the material that’s a little more sensitive, and tucks it up inside.” 

She added, “Pregnancy kind of pushes it out and mine decided to stay there. And now, after having two kids, even though physically I look back to normal, there are things that will never be the same.”