Reality TV star Bobby Norris has left fans shocked after revealing his recent facelift following years of 'abusing fillers'. The Only Way Is Essex legend, 39, appeared on This Morning with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard on Wednesday to share that he had undergone surgery in Turkey in March, unveiling his new, unrecognisable look.
Up until this point, he had been documenting the recovery process for his neck and face lift, as well as a lower blepharoplasty, on social media—a decision he stands by in the name of transparency. Sharing with the co-hosts what led him to this point, he explained that he had been 'abusing fillers' for the past ten years. 'There was just nothing subtle about it, and it's so important for people to realise, although fillers aren't permanent, it's not a surgery, there's always a line you can cross,' he said.
'Skin is about elasticity, and I'd stretched it, it's like filling up a balloon for ten years and then one day trying to pop the balloon, it's going to be stretched out and baggy.' Calling himself a 'space hopper', he quipped that 'by the time I removed them all, there wasn't going to be a cream on a market that was going to get me there'.
He then opened up about health problems he had undergone last year, with a doctor telling him at one point that he could be 'dead in 12 hours'. Ultimately, it was this that motivated him to have the facelift as 'tomorrow isn't guaranteed', even though he acknowledged he would be 'torn a new one on social media being in my 30s'.
Indeed, fans have made their thoughts clear under the Instagram clip of him showcasing his new facelift. Some have outright criticised the new look (Bobby has said his face is still swollen) while others have reiterated that he looks completely different. 'Omg if it wasn't for his voice I wouldn't have known it was him,' Eva Konn wrote. 'If I hadn't heard his voice I wouldn't recognise him,' sassalj agreed. 'He looks unrecognisable,' sim_j_gondalia reflected. 'This makes me a bit sad,' amylcs88 added. 'I love Bobby but I feel so sad that he wasn't happy in himself and felt the need to get all this work done. He is such a funny and gorgeous person,' gemzzz83 echoed. 'This makes me sad, because he really didn't need to change anything,' roseinfath_ said.
Many more, however, have come to his defence to support his decision. 'Bobby is such a beautiful soul. I wish nothing but happiness for him. Do what makes you feel better,' VasJMorgan posted. 'Let's give the swelling a chance to go down before commenting. It varies with everyone and can take a year to settle,' StephenWilliamHair pointed out. 'Be kind. People forgot this motto… do what makes you feel happy, isn't anyone else to judge. No one's perfect. Love Bobby,' loulouchar shared.
Asked whether he would ever 'regret' the choice, he admitted he felt he had 'no choice'. 'When we went into lockdown, ITV were playing a lot of old Towies – and it's like looking through a photo album and it was a decade of my life, different nose, different teeth. Over the course of a few weeks, I could see what trolls had been saying for years, and you don't notice subtle things about yourself when you're changing them and it wasn't until I sat back in lockdown, then I started to get into my fitness,' he shared. Then reiterated: 'For me, I thought, I wanted to remove all my fillers but I had crossed a line so, I can't really regret having the face lift because this is almost corrective of the abuse I had given myself.' And has even said he would undergo surgery again if needed, and certainly 'wouldn't rule it out'.
This Morning airs on ITV1 at 10am every weekday morning.
