Karamo Brown Reveals His Botched Plastic Surgery for the First Time and Details the Work He Had Done to Fix It (Exclusive)

"I was suffering for years in pain and no one knew," the 'Queer Eye' alum tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story

NEED TO KNOW

• Karamo Brown reveals chronic pain from a 2021 buccal fat removal procedure that caused scar tissue and saliva buildup
• He says he underwent reconstructive surgery to fix his saliva glands and remove scar tissue, as well as a lower blepharoplasty
• Brown shares his story to help others with chronic pain and regrets staying silent about his struggles for years

After years of speculation, Karamo Brown is finally ready to set the record straight on his plastic surgery journey.

In this week's PEOPLE cover story, the Queer Eye alum, 45, reveals for the first time how a buccal fat removal procedure in 2021 left him in chronic pain from scar tissue buildup that blocked his saliva from draining.

"For years, people have been like, 'Karamo's had plastic surgery. He has so much filler in his face,'" Brown says. "I was like, 'You know what? I can't say anything because you can't get into fights with the trolls.' But I was suffering for years in pain and no one knew."

Brown says he decided to get the buccal fat removal procedure after gaining about 70 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I was a big boy, and everyone online liked to tell me how much of a big boy I was," he says. "So, I was like, 'Okay, maybe if I slim out my face, I'll be cute.' It turned into a year-and-a-half of pain."

As the saliva built up in each of his cheeks, the scar tissue would also harden it.

"There'd be times you'd see me smile, and it was tight," he says. "My cheeks would be big because they were full of saliva, full of scar tissue. I was in the worst pain."

Things became even more complicated for Brown when he launched his eponymous NBC daytime talk show (which was canceled after four seasons in March) in 2022.

"I would shoot six episodes a day, and there'd be times when I was filming my show that my mouth would get so dry and it would be so swollen," he says.

During season 2 of his show, he lost 70 pounds because he realized that "the more weight I lost, the less scar tissue you could see."

"The scar tissue and the saliva were still there, but because I was skinnier, it looked kind of normal," he says. "I stopped eating because it helped the feeling of not having so much scar tissue."

As he filmed both his talk show and Queer Eye, which ended after 10 seasons in January, Brown struggled with his appearance.

"People around will look at you differently and they don't say anything, but you feel it," he says. "That was equally as hurtful as how I saw myself. I even remember one of my former [Queer Eye] castmates was watching an old clip during the final season, and he was like, 'Oh, look how handsome he used to be.' I was like, 'Okay, girl, I caught your little dig, but whatever.' Those types of things affect you. They hurt your feelings."

Despite the constant rumors, Brown kept quiet about his plastic surgery because "I felt embarrassed that I did this to myself. I would never do it now, but I couldn't live with the chronic pain anymore. I couldn't live with my mouth swelling up and not being able to talk."

Recently, Brown underwent a procedure to fix his saliva glands and remove the scar tissue in his cheeks.

"This doctor did the most amazing work," he says of Dr. Carl Truesdale. "I'm so thankful because I was in pain every night, every day. It was horrendous. Thanks to this doctor, I feel so much better. I'm smiling better, there's not saliva collecting, the scar tissue's gone. It's good."

While he was under for the reconstructive procedure, he also opted to get a lower blepharoplasty.

"To be really transparent with y'all, I was like, 'While we under, can you get rid of my bags?' I'm 45!" he says. "He got rid of like 60% of my bags."

Now, Brown — who decided not to sue the doctor who did his buccal fat removal procedure because "everyone told me I wouldn't get anywhere" — is opening up about his story in hopes of helping others.

"I know there's other people suffering with their chronic pain," he says. "I was fortunate enough to have the resources to find somebody who could help me, but I want to tell people that you don't have to suffer alone. I wish I would have told people what I was going through and not allowed myself to just stay quiet."

To watch the full video, visit the PEOPLE App. For more from Karamo Brown, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE on stands Friday.

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