Linda Evangelista, 56, looks drastically different after trying CoolSculpting at a dermatologist’s office between August 2015 and Feb. 2016. Six years later, the model is opening up about the aftermath of the procedure, which is cleared by the FDA and considered an alternative to liposuction. In the new issue of People, she shared the first new photos of herself in years, showing off her new look, which you can see here. She said she is “permanently deformed” and “brutally disfigured” from CoolSculpting, which is also referred to as “fat-freezing.”
The 56-year-old, who is one of the top models of the 1990s, said she “dreads” running into anyone she knows these days. “I can’t live like this anymore, in hiding and shame,” she admitted. “I just couldn’t live in this pain any longer. I’m willing to finally speak.” Linda explained that she was diagnosed with Pardoxical adipose hyperplasa (PAH) in June 2016. She received the diagnosis after going to her doctor because she noticed bulges in areas of her body that were supposed to have shrunk with the CoolSculpting procedure.
“He told me that no amount of dieting and no amount of exercise was ever going to fix it,” Linda explained. Less than one percent of patients who try CoolSculpting will struggle with the rare side effect of PAH, according to People. A rep for CoolSculpting assured the mag that side effects, including PAH, are “well-documented in the CoolSculpting information for patients and health care providers.”
Linda had a full-body liposuction surgery to try and correct the PAH damage in June 2016. She had a second surgery in July 2017, but the PAH still came back, even after she followed the doctor’s instructions during an eight week recovery, Linda claimed. “It wasn’t even a little bit better,” she insisted. “The bulges are protrusions and they’re hard. If I walk without a girdle in a dress, I will have chafing to the point of almost bleeding. I don’t look in the mirror. It doesn’t look like me.”
Linda’s tell-all interview comes following the lawsuit she filed against CoolSculpting in 2021. She sued parent company Seltiq Aesthetics Inc. for $50 million in damages, claiming that she hasn’t been able to work since undergoing CoolSculpting. “PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness and the lowest depths of self-loathing,” Linda explained in September. “In the process, I have become a recluse. With this lawsuit, I am moving forward to rid myself of shame and going public with my story.”
Earlier this week, Linda’s longtime friend and fellow supermodel, Naomi Campbell, praised Linda for coming forward with her story. “She’s a strong woman and I think she’s very brave,” Naomi told British Vogue. “It takes a lot of courage to come out and speak her truth. I stand by her absolutely.”