Megan McKenna brands lip fillers ‘dangerous’ and says she’s taken more seriously now

Megan McKenna has questioned ‘what was I even thinking’ after battling body dysmorphia over her past obsession with ‘dangerous’ lip fillers.

The former TOWIE star, 28, ditched her plumped up pout in a bid to be taken more seriously in the music industry – and said she hasn’t looked back since ‘seeing the light’ and adopting a more natural look. 

Speaking to Good Morning Britain hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shepard on Friday’s show, Megan said: ‘I look back and I do look at myself and I think, “What was I even thinking?” But I got myself into this little bubble, I had a bit of body dysmorphia.’

Her previous look: Megan previously was 'obsessed' with lip filler (pictured in May 2018)

Now and then: Megan McKenna has questioned ‘what was I even thinking’ after battling body dysmorphia over her past obsession with ‘dangerous’ lip fillers (left, on Friday, right, in 2018)

The singer admitted it has ‘been a challenge’ to be taken seriously in the music business, adding: ‘It’s been a tough journey for me, with a lot of ups and downs but I don’t regret anything.’ 

The conversation turned to cosmetic surgery when Ben mentioned that Megan had her lip fillers removed.

The host asked: ‘Has it helped do you think? Have you felt like making those changes to your life, physically, and some of the stuff you were doing back then, has changed the way people perceive you?’

The Celebrity X Factor winner replied: ‘Yeah, look back and I do look at myself and I think, “What was I even thinking?”

Filler: The former TOWIE star, 28, ditched her plumped up pout in a bid to be taken more seriously in the music industry - and said she hasn't looked back since 'seeing the light'

Filler: The former TOWIE star, 28, ditched her plumped up pout in a bid to be taken more seriously in the music industry – and said she hasn’t looked back since ‘seeing the light’

New look: Speaking to Good Morning Britain hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shepard on Friday's show, Megan said: 'I look back and I do look at myself and I think, "What was I even thinking?"'

New look: Speaking to Good Morning Britain hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shepard on Friday’s show, Megan said: ‘I look back and I do look at myself and I think, “What was I even thinking?”‘ 

‘But I got myself into this little bubble, I had a bit of body dysmorphia.

‘I think you’ve just got to accept the way you look and I do think it’s made people look at me in a different light now.’

‘I think people can just see that I’ve left that crazy world behind and this is really what I love to do and I’m not going to give up.’

Kate noted that Megan’s younger fans would look at people like the singer and her The Only Way Is Essex co-stars on Instagram as aspirational.

'Big lie': Branding Instagram 'a big lie', Megan explained she now sees lip filler as 'dangerous' (pictured with filler in June 2019)

‘Big lie’: Branding Instagram ‘a big lie’, Megan explained she now sees lip filler as ‘dangerous’ (pictured with filler in June 2019)

Branding Instagram ‘a big lie’, Megan explained she now sees lip filler as ‘dangerous’. 

She said: ‘I don’t really agree with the whole lip filler now either, I just feel like it can be dangerous.’

‘And I think people need to just love who they are. Instagram is kind of a big lie at the end of the day.’

‘People need to remember that people edit their pictures, they change the way they want to look. You need to just be yourself.

‘I used to edit my pictures and make my lips look even bigger in the editing apps.’  

New me: Megan previously told MailOnline she felt 'liberated' after breaking free from her lip fillers, big Essex hair and the pressures of being on a reality show (pictured in November 2019)

New me: Megan previously told MailOnline she felt ‘liberated’ after breaking free from her lip fillers, big Essex hair and the pressures of being on a reality show (pictured in November 2019)

Megan previously told MailOnline she felt ‘liberated’ after breaking free from her lip fillers, big Essex hair and the pressures of being on a reality TV show.

The former TOWIE star said she’s ‘finally comfortable’ in herself after dramatically overhauling her image in a bid to be taken seriously as a singer.

After swapping boozing and late nights for vitamins and herbal teas, Megan told MailOnline in an exclusive interview in November 2019: ‘I feel liberated, 100 per cent. I finally feel comfortable in myself. I’m so over that life! It’s boring.

”This girl that everyone is seeing has always been me. I’ve just never had the chance to break free and show that side of me because I’ve been on TV shows that are a lot of pressure and drama.

Speaking out: Megan previously admitted she is 'totally embarrassed' by her filler and that she became obsessed with her lips, claiming they weren't 'big enough' (pictured in October 2019)

Speaking out: Megan previously admitted she is ‘totally embarrassed’ by her filler and that she became obsessed with her lips, claiming they weren’t ‘big enough’ (pictured in October 2019)

‘I have stripped back with loads of things, my hair, my make-up, my lips, right down to my clothes. I feel less is more.’ 

Megan has admitted she is ‘totally embarrassed’ by her past filler and that she became obsessed with her lips, claiming they weren’t ‘big enough’. 

The former TOWIE star said dissolving her filler was one of the ‘best choices’ she has ever made, because she lost sight of what a ‘normal face looked like’.

Speaking to Closer magazine, she said: ‘It’s honestly one of the best choices I’ve ever made – though it took me a while to get there.  

‘I was obsessed with my lips and used to think, “They’re not big enough!”. Looking, back, I’m totally embarrassed. I’d lost sight of what a normal face looked like.’  

Back to reality: The star said dissolving her filler was one of the 'best choices' she has ever made, because she lost sight of what a 'normal face looked like' (pictured in October 2019)

Back to reality: The star said dissolving her filler was one of the ‘best choices’ she has ever made, because she lost sight of what a ‘normal face looked like’ (pictured in October 2019) 

In February 2020, Megan jetted off to Nashville, Tennessee, to work on a second studio album, two months after winning The X Factor: Celebrity.

She was also offered the opportunity to support legendary musician Lionel Richie on the British leg of his tour, which had been scheduled to kick off this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic destroyed her plans to support Lionel on tour.

Despite the national lockdown halting her music career Megan released her new single This last month.

Taking to Instagram to alert her fans the singer wrote: ‘My track This will be released on 19th February… Thank you all so much for being patient, it’s an amazing feeling to finally be releasing music… it’s just the beginning…’