For three years, Brandi Glanville watched her face change in the mirror while strangers online guessed at parasites, infections, and cosmetic mishaps. Now the former Real Housewives star says the truth was hiding in plain sight, inside her own body.
TLDR
Brandi Glanville says she spent $200,000 and saw 21 doctors over three years before discovering a ruptured breast implant was behind her facial disfigurement, debilitating symptoms, and a public health battle that played out online.
A Glamour Image Under Siege
The 53-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum told the “I Do Part 2” podcast that her mystery illness began about three years ago. The first clues showed up on her neck and head. Then came brain fog, joint pain, and exhaustion that left her feeling, in her words, “100 years old.”
By July 2024, the glamorous reality figure who once floated through Beverly Hills parties was posting swollen, bruised selfies to social media, asking for patience as she searched for answers. Doctors initially suspected stress. Later, some told her they believed she had a facial parasite. In the middle of it all, she lost several teeth and started the slow process of replacing them, even as she continued raising her two sons and appearing at Bravo events.
The photos, which showed dramatic swelling and scarring, sparked concern and speculation. Earlier this month, she told TMZ that her breast implants were ultimately identified as the cause of the mysterious illness that left her face so drastically changed.
Three Years of Wrong Turns
On the podcast, Glanville revealed the financial and emotional toll of the search. She says she visited 21 doctors, from infectious disease specialists to rheumatologists, over several years. “I am telling you, $200,000,” she said of the cost. “I had insurance, but the people at my insurance, Kaiser, let us just say, it sucks. I was paying out of pocket to see specialists. Every doctor you can think of, I saw.”
For a long stretch, no one suspected her breast implants. Her mammograms came back normal, and Glanville says that reassured everyone that the implants were not the problem. According to Page Six, it was a sonogram that finally revealed a rupture in her right implant, along with silicone in her lymph nodes. Only then did the puzzle of her facial swelling, pain, and fatigue begin to make sense.
Glanville referenced “breast implant illness,” a term used by some patients who report systemic symptoms they believe are tied to their implants. According to the Washington Post, the FDA has heard from women who say their breast implants are making them sick, and regulators have pressed manufacturers to study potential risks more closely.
Life After Explant Surgery
The reality star says she removed her implants two weeks ago and felt a change almost immediately. She described her relief after surgery, explaining that the constant heaviness and fog began to lift. “There is such a thing as breast implant illness and you really should change your implants every 10 years,” she said. “I just did not do it. If it is not broke, do not fix it. I learned a really, really hard lesson.”
Even as she warns others to monitor their health, Glanville is careful not to turn her story into a blanket judgment on cosmetic surgery. She has said she does not want to scare women away from breast implants, but she now strongly recommends regular sonograms and keeping up with maintenance timelines.
For a woman whose fame was built on unfiltered confessionals and red carpet bravado, this chapter lands differently. The mother of two has laid bare not just a health scare, but the staggering bill and the fear of watching her face and her livelihood change in real time. Fans who once knew her as the sharp-tongued agent of chaos on reality TV are now seeing something quieter: a survivor piecing her health and confidence back together, one appointment, one surgery, and one candid interview at a time.
Join the Discussion
How does Brandi Glanville sharing the financial and emotional cost of her health battle change the way you see her, and would it influence how openly you would discuss your own medical struggles?
