Married At First Sight UK star Nelly Patel got a nose job after seeing herself on the E4 dating show.
The 31-year-old cosmetic dentist considered the surgery for nearly ten years following a teenage accident that left her with a deviated septum. She visited Professor Raghavan at Pall Mall Medical last month for the procedure.
"Seeing myself on TV, I was like, 'no, like I'm not being silly', because obviously the people that love me always turned around and said 'you don't need it, you're perfect as you are,'" Patel told the Daily Mail. "It was confirmation for me seeing it on screen."
She said online comments did not influence her. "I've got a pretty thick skin, and respectfully, nothing that a troll will say will ever influence a decision of mine," she said.
Marriage to Steven Springett
Patel appeared on season 10 of the series last year, where she was paired with Steven Springett. She became a fan favourite, and viewers were outraged when it emerged Springett lied about his feelings.
The couple left the experiment just before Final Vows. While weddings on the show are not legally binding, couples receive weekly help from commitment experts and are encouraged to behave as if they are officially married.
Patel worked hard on the relationship, but Springett signed up for a dating app to meet other women. He then started a relationship with another bride on the show, Julia-Ruth Smith.
Patel said she blocked Springett on all social media and they are no longer in contact. "What I've learned is I'm apparently a very patient person," she said. "At the time you don't feel how tough it is, but you know when you are with somebody who, let's be honest, wasn't really being quite genuine, he wasn't being the kindest either to me."
"The public reception really helped, just how supportive everyone was, especially women, it was so nice," Patel said.
Show aftermath
Patel said she was happy they were civil after the relationship ended, but that changed when the show aired. "But his behavior as the show was airing... obviously it must have been hard for him to have that negative feedback from a lot of people, but the way he was on social media, he wasn't the kindest about me," she said.
People sent her screenshots of Springett talking about her online. "I was sent a lot of stuff by a lot of people saying 'he's saying this about you, saying that about you,' and at that point I just thought, fine, we clearly can't even have any form of civil friendship or any sort of relationship. So I was very trigger happy with the block button!" she said.
"I have a better relationship with Julia Ruth than I do with Steven, so that's saying a lot!" Patel added.
Personal growth
Despite the experience, Patel said she has no regrets about the show. "I really thought I was just going to have a bit of time off work, maybe find the love of my life, maybe not, have a bit of fun and have something that I can talk about with my friends and family when I'm older," she said. "The personal growth and the confidence I got was something I didn't expect."
Patel, who had been cheated on in the past, said the show taught her she was not as healed or confident as she thought. She said she would back herself more if she went through the experience again.
"It's hard because watching it back, it's blindingly obvious that he didn't like me at some points. But those private interviews he'd do, I didn't see those," she said. "So I was being told a different thing and then I'd watch it on television and I looked like an idiot."
Series controversies
BBC Panorama recently aired claims that two women were raped during filming of the show, and a third woman said she was the victim of a non-consensual sex act. The men involved denied the claims. Channel 4 has delayed broadcasting the latest series, filmed between January and March, pending an external investigation.
Patel said the reports came as a shock to her. She had no personal problem with welfare during filming, but she did not want to take away from what the women experienced.
"If someone's had a completely different experience, I don't want to comment on that," she said. She expressed that as a fan of the show, she feels conflicted because she would like to see it return.
Mel Schilling legacy
Relationship expert Mel Schilling, who joined the UK series from the Australian version in 2021, died in March at age 54 following a battle with bowel cancer.
"She went out of her way to find me in my room to make sure I was OK," Patel said. "I remember thinking, 'what an amazing, empathetic, kind woman, she doesn't need to do that, but she went out of her way to do it'."
"She was an incredible, incredible woman and I feel like she's left such an incredible legacy and it's so sad," Patel said. "It was really hard when we all found out, we were all really quite upset about it, but I just hope that her husband and her daughter are like healing as best as they can."
Rhinoplasty recovery
Patel, who is single but open to dating, is focused on recovering from her rhinoplasty.
"I can't believe it's been just over two weeks and I'm healed and back at work," she said. "I really thought I was going to be like Elephant Man for so long!"
"Some people can be quite judgmental about cosmetic surgery but I'm not one of those. I do work in healthcare, but obviously the main work I do is cosmetic work. So I'm all for if it's something that you've been thinking about and it's something that you really want to do," she said.
She advised people to research their surgeon and ensure they are comfortable, and to never get pressured into anything.
Patel declined offers for free surgery and paid for the procedure herself. "Because I'm Asian I was also looking for doctors and people that were going to be really good with ethnic noses, I think that's really important. I didn't want to look like I'm not my race," she said. "I wanted a really natural nose, just nice natural tweaks, so I'm really, really pleased with who I chose and where I went."
