"I had become the master of concealing them." Phoebe Burgess on her breast reduction.

Phoebe Burgess has had a breast reduction. And she made the decision for herself only. 

The media personality and podcast host has opened up about the experience, saying her relationship with her boobs had always been "volatile".

"If we were in an actual relationship, I would have dumped them years ago. But, I learned to love, appreciate and even marvel at them again - when they supported me so graciously and steadfastly through those early breastfeeding months of motherhood, with a great milk supply (the mastitis wasn't so appreciated) - and I look back on those as our golden years," Phoebe wrote on Instagram.

But in 2020, she decided to make a decision for herself soon after her separation from Sam Burgess. And it was to have a breast reduction.

For years, Phoebe chose not to talk about it, saying it wasn't to do with shame or a desire to hide the fact she had made her breasts surgically smaller. Rather, she figured people wouldn't find it interesting.

But alas, people are always interested - particularly women. 

So this week, Phoebe shared her experience via her Under The Gloss podcast, unpacking the psychology behind the decision to undergo a surgical breast reduction (instead of a more commonly sought after augmentation).

But first watch Phoebe Burgess opens up about life behind Instagram. Post continues below.

Describing it as "my version of a 'boob job' - a choice I made by myself, for myself", Phoebe said she is now proud to talk about it, alongside Leah Itsines, who also has her own boob reduction story.

Reflecting on the chat, Phoebe said: "She's inspired me to own, share and celebrate freeing myself of the decades of flattening, pushing down, hiding, resenting my chest. If you're thinking 'uh what boobs, Phoebe?' I had become the master of concealing them. 

"Beneath strategic outfits, I did everything from cling wrap hacks, to the Kim K lift-and-squish using duct tape - which by the way, yes, does feel as though you are ripping your own nipples off when you remove, and, of course, there was the multiple bra layering system where I'd wear one supportive sports bra under a three-sizes-too-small-sports-crop designed to flatten."

On the podcast, Phoebe said that she initially spoke to her surgeon about getting a "polite C" and the right proportions for her body type.

"At this point I had two children and my divorce was imminent. I think I'd waited a few months after I left the marriage, I remember just 'knock, knock, knock,' on the surgeon's door and I was like, I am so ready. I had two kids and the person who I had sort of done this with I donated my body to the cause we got these beautiful little humans. There was no one else looking at it and telling me it was beautiful. That responsibility to feel self love was on me," she explained.

And so she went ahead and made the booking for a breast reduction and lift. 

All went mostly well, although Phoebe did experience a "horrific infection". 

"Obviously it's painful [the surgery and recovery]. I now have a two centimetre thick scar from my nipple down the base of my breast. But I don't care - I do not give a s**t about that, as we can do corrective or whatever. I remember even though I had like an infected wound and pus for weeks after the surgery, I remember just feeling so free."

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As for Leah, she had a similar experience telling Phoebe on Under The Gloss that when she went through puberty, they immediately grew to a size she wasn't comfortable with.

"I really didn't feel comfortable with how big they were. I always wore big, baggy shirts or I never felt comfortable having my cleavage out. So when I made the decision to get rid of them, it was like the most liberating thing ever," Leah said.

As both women explained, their separate decisions to have a breast reduction didn't factor in the perceptions of men.

Phoebe said: "The best thing is for a woman to feel comfortable, because that's how you're going to have the most positive experience sexually. This was something I definitely did for me - when I looked in the mirror when I walked down the street when I got dressed in the morning."

Phoebe noted that she doesn't want all women to simply feel that big boobs aren't fabulous. It's just her own personal decision - because her relationship with her large breasts wasn't right for her.

"Whilst I believed wholeheartedly other women looked beautiful owning their bodies, including women with larger cup sizes than me, I just couldn't connect to mine. I acknowledge some women wanted larger breasts. Some were forced to lose theirs. My issues felt superficial."

For Phoebe though, the aesthetic choice looming in the back of her mind soon became a necessary one, when back pain, pressure on her neck and nerve soreness began to occur. 

"So I made a decision by myself. For myself. And I would make it again and again."

She closed her podcast with this statement: "I hope you learned something today ladies about taking control of your own body. And boys - I hope you learned something, namely don't tell a woman what to do with her body."

You can listen to Phoebe on No Filter right here:

Feature Image: Instagram @mrsphoebeburgess.

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