The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jennifer Fessler said her weight loss medication caused a complication that resulted in hospitalization — but she’s still taking the drug.
“I have been on, and I’m not going to call it Ozempic — that’s been the umbrella name,” Fessler, 53, said during the Monday, December 4, episode of her new podcast “Two Jersey Js” with costar Jackie Goldschneider. “But I’ve been on semaglutide for over a year now, and I’ve lost maybe 22 pounds.”
Goldschneider, 47, has been critical of the trend of using Ozempic and similar drugs — designed to treat type 2 diabetes — for weight loss, but Fessler says she’s not concerned about possible side effects.
“I’m not afraid of Ozempic and I will tell you I have had an experience that was not good — and I’m pretty positive it was about the semaglutide — where I had to go to the hospital for an impacted bowel … and I’m still not nervous about it,” Fessler told her cohost.
She went on to call herself a “raging hypochondriac” but said that “goes out the window” when it comes to her appearance. “For instance, I’m not afraid at all of going into surgery for anything cosmetic,” she added.
As for the impacted bowel situation, Fessler said she was experiencing constipation but didn’t immediately take action because she knew it was a common side effect of semaglutide.
“Something that happens [with semaglutide], a new experience for me, is being able to eat what I want even when it’s not the most healthy choices and still lose weight,” she explained. “So, maybe for the first time in my life, I’m losing weight on pizza and bagels and ice cream.”
Since the constipation experience, Fessler has been drinking more water and eating more vegetables, as she realized eating unhealthy food while taking semaglutide wasn’t a great choice. She also hired a personal trainer to help her with her exercise routine.
“A lot of this you have to be proactive about,” she explained. “Am I worried about it? No. Am I aware of it and a little disappointed in myself for not addressing it sooner? Sure.”
Fessler previously hinted that she was taking Ozempic or a similar drug during a March interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “What am I on? Well, I did have a facelift. … And a nose job!” she shared at the time. “And I did lose a lot of weight. I took peptides, and I don’t know if you’ve heard of medications associated with that that help people lose weight. You said [the word Ozempic], I didn’t. But … whatever works, here I am.”
