Sherri Shepherd recently made a high-profile health decision that she says has greatly improved the quality of her life.
The comic and daytime talk show host recently chatted with ET’s Rachel Smith during a tour of her wardrobe, and she opened up about her health transformation after breast reduction surgery.
Shepherd candidly explained why she decided to undergo the surgical operation and how that decision changed her life moving forward.
“I’m just gonna say, I love my breasts. They are my best friends, they are my girls, and for many, many years they were my calling card,” Shepherd shared. “When I got on stage, when I walked through the door, everybody knew it was Sherri Shepherd. ‘She got them tig ol bitties!’ That’s what they would say.”
“But as I got older, they got heavier, and I was getting the grooves in the shoulders from pulling on my bra. My clothes weren’t fitting right, and, you know, my back was hurting,” she continued. “So it was not as comfortable as it was, and I said, ‘Let me do this while I have some time to heal.'”
For Shepherd, the surgery has made a world of difference — both with regard to her physical health and her mental health.
“I feel like lighter. I feel like I can sit up straight, I feel like my body is more proportioned now that my boobs are smaller,” she shared.
Because of the change in her proportions, it has opened up a whole new world of clothing and styling options, and fewer challenges with the outfits she wears.
“Now, it’s like no wardrobe malfunctions. It feels good. I feel more confident,” Shepherd said. “There was a confidence when I had my boobs and it was a certain [kind of] confidence. But now, it’s just a freedom. I can do more things. I ran across the street the other day and I didn’t have to hold nothing!”
That being said, the operation wasn’t without its challenges — including a particularly lengthy recovery process.
“It was 12 weeks of healing, so I couldn’t do anything,” Shepherd shared. “When you’re in your 20s, [it’s] two weeks and you’re back on the streets. For me, it was 12 weeks of healing, [and] sitting there.”
Additionally, she’s had to up her gym game. Shepherd explained, “Getting back in the gym, I was doing a lot of deadlifts, I do a lot of weightlifting, I do some cardio, and I’ve been really trying to make the right eating choices.”
“Because now, you know, like, with the boobs you don’t see as much, you can have a lot of stomach with big boobs,” Shepherd said with a laugh.
Another wardrobe change that has stemmed from her reduction surgery is a slew of new bras — and getting rid of her old bras. So, Shepherd piled them up and came up with a plan.
“These were all of the bras that I decided [to get rid of],” Shepherd said, adding that she’s planning on sending them all to Drake.
“I found out that Drake is collecting bras that were thrown at him and he’s gonna auction ’em off,” Shepherd said, referring to the artist’s growing collection of fan-tossed bras. “So these are all of my big-boob bras and I said, ‘You know what? I was gonna give them to my girlfriend… but look, Drake needs them more than you do.'”
“So I’m sending him a care package,” she added. “And he’s gonna be happy. These are grown women’s bras, Drake. These are not 22-year-old women bras. These are not [from] them women going, ‘Oh my God, you’re so great!’ These are grown woman bras with good credit, OK?”
Shepherd’s daytime talk show, Sherri, airs weekdays on Fox.
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