Houston – Transparency is important, especially if you co-host a live, daily lifestyle show like Houston Life.
Houston Life has a loyal following, and its viewers love Derrick Shore and Tessa Barrera. Their willingness to open up about their lives, relationships, the good and the bad creates a sense of relation between them and those at home. It’s one of the reasons Barrera decided to open up about her absence from the show this week. She shared her deeply personal journey that spans over two decades.
In a five-minute video that aired on Houston Life on May 1, Barrera disclosed that she underwent a cosmetic procedure to downsize breast implants she had gotten at the age of 19.
Barrera tells us that growing up, she wanted to look like beautiful bombshells like Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra. They had voluptuous figures that she did not have as an athlete in high school. She thought about her career aspirations and believed if she wanted to be on television and command an audience, she would need to look a certain way.
A year and a half after her high school graduation, she decided to get breast implants. It was a decision she says she was too young to make.
Barrera has always been an open book when it comes to other beauty enhancements like Botox and filler. She is not anti-plastic surgery but wishes she would have waited to alter her body. Because of her active lifestyle, Barrera reveals she experienced instances where her implants ruptured and led to emergency surgeries twice.
Reflecting on her past, she admits feeling she wasn’t fully informed or self-aware. As she heads into her 40s, her health is a top priority. Because of the complications with her first procedure, she would tell her younger self that she would have been okay without enhancements and that she “was still going to be me, no matter what.”
As the oldest of four siblings, Barrera wants to tell her younger sister and the young women growing up to “Hold off. Really love yourself. Think about it because it’s not as simple as ‘okay, I’m changed and this is the new me.’”
Now, with maturity, Barrera praises the younger generation because she believes they practice self-love more than she and her peers did at their age. She adds they realize “Hey, you’re okay just the way you are. You don’t need a huge enhancement to your body for people to listen to you. You’re going to be just fine.’”
As she approaches her 40s, Barrera believes she’s old enough and smart enough to make decisions regarding her body because she knows herself better than she did in her teens.
It’s important to note that we are in an era where women are putting their own twist on beauty standards and how they want to present themselves. We applaud those women everyday! These procedures are readily available, and to feel empowered and confident enough to proceed with aesthetics is a feat of its own. Be an advocate for yourself, know your options, and foster a support system with your best interest in mind.
We thank Barrera for her openness and vulnerability. It serves as a reminder that embracing your true self is a journey worth taking. After all, she says “feeling beautiful on the inside will forever trump the feeling of looking beautiful on the outside.”
We wish her a speedy recovery and we can’t wait to have her back in Studio B!