When K. Michelle recalls what drove her to get silicone-filled injections into her buttocks more than six years ago, the singer and TV personality says she felt it was something she needed to succeed in music.
"I had just got a new record deal and I felt like the bigger the butt the bigger the career," she tells ESSENCE. "I already had a big butt. It was just ridiculous."
The star couldn't have foreseen that she would be talking about how the injections almost killed her. After attempting to have the silicone removed, she found out it spread through her body and was having harmful effects, including on her ability to walk. It would take years and multiple surgeries for the singer to be able to get to the place where she is now, telling us she's "probably the healthiest I've been in a while."
In the process of wading through that ordeal, K started working to create a show to help people having similar experiences. The result is her new series, My Killer Body With K. Michelle, which makes its official premiere on February 3.
"There are several people who've gone through this who are just starting to feel the effects of it," she says of individuals featured on the series looking to correct plastic surgery mishaps, whom she seeks to help. "You even have women who recently had this procedure and are feeling the effects right away."
As plastic surgery has continued to surge in popularity, K says more conversations need to be had enough about the fact that many trips under the knife don't turn out as planned.
"You only see the beauty and you only see the stories...after they have Photoshopped their body to death, on top of the surgery," she says. "What I wanted to do was speak the whole truth and nothing but the truth about it."
In the show, we will also see her ongoing journey to be healthy and happy with her body. Because the silicone will never be fully removed from her system, she pays attention to her body, including what she puts in it through her diet, in a way she didn't in the past. As for embracing where she is physically now, she's honest about grappling with the desire to get plastic surgery in the future.
"I'm going through a difficult decision. My doctor feels like I probably need two more reconstructions, and that is for cosmetic, not health. So for me, I battle," she says. "Some days I'm like, 'I'm never getting back on that table!' But then I might put on something and then a dent from my reconstruction is there and I say, 'I'm going to get this fixed.' I'm human. I go back and forth.'"
She adds, "I love how I look. I feel pretty. I feel hopeful and I feel happy to be healthy and able to function. I think that brings another beauty within itself. I think I got grown woman on me and I think that is beautiful. So I'm in a good place with how I feel about myself."
That hasn't stopped social media from claiming she's already had work done, though, which the star addressed in only the comical way she can.
"You know how people put bodies on you? They put surgeries on me," she says. "I've had a facelift on Monday and a new face by Wednesday. Let them tell it, it's always something."
That being said, despite what people think, or what they may assume from watching My Killer Body, K is not against plastic surgery. She just wants everyone to be aware of the risks and do their research before making a decision to lie on the operating table.
"I am for whatever you want to do with your body. It is a thing we must do called research and even within research, we can still make a decision that we don't expect the outcome. That is just surgery and it's something you just have to be mentally be prepared for and understand," she says. "Know your medical history and what you're going through. How does your body react to different things before going under the knife? It is really a self-study. It's nothing quick that you should just up and do. Just like you research when you want to buy a car, you should definitely research what you're going to do with your life and your body because you only get one."
Check out more of our conversation with K. Michelle about her health journey, new music (including her last R&B album and first country one), her debut film role in Lifetime's Single Black Female and why you can't put the star in a box.
My Killer Body with K.Michelle premieres on Thursday, February 3 at 9/8c on Lifetime. Single Black Female, starring Amber Riley and Raven Goodwin, airs on Saturday, February 5 at 8/7c on Lifetime. Her final R&B album, I'm the Problem, is coming soon, and her country album is due out this summer.