I spent $75,000 on plastic surgery after I was bullied over my 'Middle Eastern' appearance - and now I have nothing but regret

An Australian woman has revealed the 'dark truth' behind the plastic surgery and cosmetic transformations she underwent to achieve her dream look.

Amelia Grey spent $75,000 on various procedures to become the perfect version of herself, but she now tells Daily Mail that it will never be enough. 

The 27-year-old says she underwent plastic surgery after she was bullied for her 'Middle Eastern' appearance, but has now been left with nothing but 'regrets'.  

'I thought if I fixed my nose, my body and all the things people bullied me for, I'd finally be happy,' she said. 

'Instead, I found myself trapped in a cycle of always wanting more. The dark truth is that surgery doesn't erase the hurt. 

'I spent years changing my appearance, but I still had to deal with the same insecurities underneath.'

A model has revealed the 'dark truth' behind the plastic surgery and cosmetic transformations she underwent to achieve her dream look

Amelia, who was born in Iran but moved to Australia as a child, says she became obsessed with chasing an 'ideal of perfection'.

Years of being bullied and comparing herself to women online pushed Amelia towards plastic surgery in her late teens and early twenties.  

She underwent several procedures, including boob jobs, liposuction, two Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBL), lip fillers and extensive facial surgery.

'I wasn't chasing beauty anymore, I was chasing acceptance,' she said. 

'Every nasty comment made me feel like there was something wrong with me that needed fixing.

'I remember looking at girls on Instagram and feeling like I could never compete. Eventually, I convinced myself surgery was the only way I'd ever measure up.

'I was really self-conscious. I struggled with body image a lot in an era where you're constantly exposed to certain looks and body types.

'It was always really challenging, especially as a Middle Eastern girl growing up with those as your beauty standards.

Amelia Grey, 27, spent $75,000 on various procedures to become the perfect version of herself, but she now tells Daily Mail that it will never be enough

'It makes you want to chase this ideal of perfection. It made it very difficult, constantly seeing people who you think look better than you.'

Amelia says she often 'got bullied because of my nose' and became insecure about her 'hip dips', adding that she 'just wanted to feel prettier and more accepted'. 

She received her first cosmetic procedure at 19 and began getting lip fillers every six months, later adding Botox as she got older. 

Amelia received breast augmentation surgery at the age of 21, going from a C cup to a GG cup, before requiring revision surgery to correct details she was unhappy with.

The influencer also underwent two rounds of BBL and liposuction surgeries in her early twenties before launching her online career.

However, complications from one of the surgeries saw her travel to the Dominican Republic in 2023 for corrective surgery.  

She later underwent more facial procedures in Turkey, including rhinoplasty, buccal fat removal, a cat-eye lift, cheek lift and neck lift. 

Amelia says the culture surrounding plastic surgery transformations conceals the reality of what it is like to completely change your appearance.

She says she underwent plastic surgery after she was bullied for her 'Middle Eastern' appearance, but has now been left with nothing but 'regrets'

She claims people only 'see the glamorous before-and-after photos', but they don't see the dark truth of the recovery process.

'They don't see the tears, the pain, the complications or the moments you're lying in bed wondering if you've made a huge mistake,' she said.

'I've spent more than AU$75,000 changing my body, but if I could go back, I'd tell my younger self that she didn't need to change a thing.

'After one surgery went wrong, I felt completely devastated. I realised I had risked my health chasing an impossible standard.

'I wish someone had told me that perfection doesn't exist. The goal posts just keep moving.'

Amelia says that looking back, she realises being bullied left her feeling like she 'wasn't enough', and it was her self-worth that needed healing not her appearance.

'I don't regret every procedure, but I do regret believing surgery would magically fix my self-esteem,' she said.

'I was trying to build confidence with a scalpel when what I really needed was self-acceptance.

'I thought surgery would be the end of my insecurities. In reality, it was only the beginning of a much bigger battle.'

Amelia said her 'biggest fear' is that young girls will look at post-operation photos of her and 'think surgery is the answer'. 

'It isn't. If you're unhappy with yourself, those feelings don't disappear when the bandages come off,' she said.

'I changed almost everything people bullied me for, but the saddest part is realising I was never the problem in the first place.'

Despite achieving the look she once dreamed of, Amelia admitted she still has mixed feelings about going under the knife.

'I do definitely think about a time where my life would have been different if I didn't have any surgery,' she said.

'I do have some regret because I had to get so many things fixed, like my boobs and the BBL. And the recovery for the BBL is very difficult.

'It takes about six months, you can't sit, and there's lots of swelling. I had to wear a compression garment and it's very painful.'

Amelia added that her conservative parents struggled to accept her cosmetic procedures.

'I told my parents about the surgeries at the very last minute but I definitely didn't involve them in the planning of it,' she said.

'I knew that they would be against it, being as conservative as they are. They tried to change my mind but I was stubborn.

'My parents don't support it to this day and they say that they wish I hadn't done anything to my body.'