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Julie Hambleton
Julie Hambleton
March 20, 2024 ·  6 min read

Meet The Mom And Daughter Who Are Addicted To Plastic Surgery

There is a lot of pressure on women to look “perfect” – there always has been. For some, these pressures lead to extreme lengths to achieve this impossible beauty standard. Some women go on crazy diets, others intense gym programs, and others extensive skincare regimens. Others, however, go the route of cosmetic surgery. Like anything, this can quickly turn from one procedure to help boost your self-esteem to a full-blown addiction.

This is exactly what happened to this mother-daughter duo in the UK. Their quest to look like their favorite celebrity Kate Price got them both hooked on plastic surgery. We first learned of the lengths, time, and money they have spent on surgeries back in 2015. This is where they are today. (1)

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Image credit: People

The Mother-Daughter Duo Addicted To Plastic Surgery

As of 2015, mother and daughter Georgina Clark and Kayla Morris had spent a combined $86,000 US on plastic surgeries and cosmetic procedures. The goal? To look as similar to their idol, British celebrity Kate Price, as possible. This goal was one they had in the works already for quite some time.

Kayla apparently first expressed interest in plastic surgery in 2009 at the incredibly young age of 11. She told her mom Georgina that she wanted a boob job. Rather than sit her daughter down and explain to her that she was beautiful as she was, Georgina was very encouraging. She liked the idea of her child wanting to surgically change her body.

“I was pleased Kayla wanted surgery and wanted a boob job,” the then 38-year-old mother said in an interview. “I was glad because I wanted her to be like that kind of person.”

From that point forward, the pair began planning their transformations. When Kayla turned 17, she began stripping at a club in Birmingham to help fund her and her mother’s dreams. In that club, she eventually met a ‘sugar daddy’ who also began helping pay for the pair’s procedures. Georgina was nothing but a proud mother.

“I’m really lucky to have a daughter like Kayla that spoils me and gives me and pays for my surgery and stuff. I’m just living the dream,” she said. “I’m so lucky. I’m so proud of her. I really am.”

What All Have They Have Done

The better question is what haven’t the mother-daughter duo had done. To date, they’ve each had boob jobs, lip injections, semi-permanent makeup, botox, teeth whitening, and hair extensions. At the time, they were also planning to have buttock augmentation (butt lifts). They said that they wouldn’t stop having work done until they were satisfied with their look. In 2015, they still hadn’t reached that goal.

Where Are They Now?

Four years later, in 2019, the pair appeared on Jeremy Kyle’s The Kyle Files for a sort-of tell-all interview. In this interview, host Jeremy confronted the now 42-year-old mom about her parenting decisions in regards to her daughter, Kayla. Georgina, who previously expressed pride in everything her daughter had done, Four years later, was feeling less so. (2)

The television host slammed the mother for allowing her then-teenage daughter to dance, strip, and have sex with older men in order to fund both of their plastic surgeries. He was baffled, openly asking her what kind of mother would do such a thing. Though initially denying that she knew anything about that, she quickly changed rhetoric based on the comments pouring in from Twitter, not to mention previous interviews that proved otherwise. Finally, she responded by saying that she knew that it wasn’t right and that she felt “rubbish” about the whole thing. She said that she definitely herself had an addiction to cosmetic procedures. Despite all of them, she still wasn’t happy with the way she looked.

Read: Mom And Teen Daughter Shower Together Every Day

Kayla’s Response

Kayla, who in the 2019 interview shows that she is now striving for a somewhat more “natural” look, admits that she is embarrassed at photos of herself from the height of their surgeries. She says she thinks especially that the oversized lips looked ridiculous. Her desire to have so much done, she explains, was all based on perceived pressure.

“I just remember really wanting it done. It’s a lot of pressure on being a young girl nowadays, the whole Kim Kardashian thing, Instagram thing, selfie thing,” she explained. “And if you aren’t secure and happy in yourself, and you have the money then you will go and do them.”

Plastic Surgery Addiction

While we don’t know for sure if Kayla and her daughter are afflicted with any particular condition, plastic surgery addiction is a real thing. Millions of people around the world have cosmetic procedures done annually. These range from botox and lip fillers to breast augmentation surgeries, nose jobs, and facial reconstruction. While most can have one or two things done without issue, there are many who do become addicted to plastic surgery. These people actually experience a “high” when they have procedures done – much like those addicted to substances or other activities, like shopping or sex. (3)

Often body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) preempts a plastic surgery addiction. As can be expected, these people are deeply displeased with how their bodies and faces look and wish they looked different. This desire to change their look is so strong that they will go to surgical lengths to achieve it. They become hyper-fixated on even the smallest details or “imperfections” and just have to change them. Of course, once you’ve had one surgery, it becomes easier and easier to pull the trigger on another.

“It’s more of a psychological issue than a physical addiction,” explains Canice E. Crerand, PhD, psychologist in the division of plastic surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. 

Read: The sad reality of children’s beauty pageants

More Details On Body Dysmorphic Disorder

People with this disorder spend hours a day and thousands of dollars trying to hide or change these aspects of how they look. They are also more likely to be dissatisfied with the outcomes of their procedures. Besides that, they also tend to have unrealistic expectations of surgery. For example, they may believe it will lead to a better relationship or higher income. They also will often at first be satisfied with one procedure, only to suddenly realize that another feature is “awful” and “just has to be changed”. (4)

“There are some challenges in determining if someone has BDD,” Crerand says. “Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder tend to have low self-esteem.” Self-esteem has many different components — besides one’s appearance it can be linked to personal or work-related accomplishments, intellectual ability, or personality traits such as friendliness or honesty. However, people with body dysmorphic disorder place a disproportionate amount of emphasis on their physical appearance.”

In general, BDD only affects about one or two percent of the population. In populations of people who have cosmetic procedures done, however, that number is as high as 15%. It is important that surgeons and practitioners are aware of the signs and symptoms of this condition. They can often be the first person who can step in and make sure that this person gets the help they need. They should always refer these patients to a professional psychologist who will help this person overcome both their addiction and their body image problems. (5)

Keep Reading: ‘I want my daughter to have cosmetic surgery because ugly people get nowhere’

Sources

  1. Mother-Daughter Duo Have Spent $86,000 on Matching Plastic Surgery: ‘We Look How We Want to Look’.” People. Ana Calderone. August 27, 2015.
  2. Mother encouraged her teenage daughter to have sex with a ‘sugar daddy’ so they could both pay for cosmetic surgery – after becoming ‘addicted’ to changing her looks.” Daily Mail. Harriet Johnstone. April 9, 2019.
  3. An Overview of Behavioral Addiction.” Very Well Mind. Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD . September 17, 2020.
  4. When Cosmetic Surgery Becomes an Addiction.” Everyday Health. Diane Stresing. August 5, 2011.
  5. When Plastic Surgery Becomes an Addiction.” Psychology Today. Michael Reilly, MD, and Keon Parsa, MD. June 15, 2021.