Sharna Burgess got candid about her struggles with body image throughout the years — and how it led her to consider cosmetic surgery.
“Over the years, the only reason I didn’t end up with a boob job in my 20s was because I saw someone get one that was muscular like me and it looked like a bodybuilder,” Burgess, 38, shared on an episode of her and fiancé Brian Austin Green’s podcast, “Oldish,” on Wednesday, October 18. “I was like, ‘I don’t want that.’ And it was the only reason why I didn’t. But other than that, I was under the impression that I wanted bigger breasts because other people had them and it was feminine and attractive. I was even influenced by these things.”
The Dancing With the Stars alum shared that her mom’s negative-self talk about her own body impacted Burgess growing up.
“My mom is an incredible woman but I heard about her insecurities about her body or her shape my whole life because she’s always had very critical language about herself,” Burgess explained. “She’s always been very tough on herself about lots of things. And I say this with so much deep love but there was always something in a negative tone. I think that imprinted on me, having that negative language about my body.”
Burgess noted that she debated getting liposuction to “have the gap between my legs like other people have.”
“My body isn’t built that way. And this is before social media,” she said. “This was in a time when my mom was my representation of language about her body.”
Burgess concluded the episode by touching on the importance of using positive body language around kids. Burgess and Green, 50, share 16-month-old son Zane and the actor is also father of son Kassius, 21, with ex Vanessa Marcil and Noah, 10, Bodhi, 9, and Journey, 7, with ex-wife Megan Fox.
“I think it’s really important for us to focus on in the home, not just for our kids, but for ourselves, is the language we use in the mirror; the language we use around our kids about the way our bodies are changing and forming and shaping,” she told Green. “Find something beautiful to change that language. Even while you’re internally working on accepting those things about your body.”
Burgess has previously been open about her postpartum body.
“My body has been utterly recognizable after giving birth. Every ounce of water in my body has gone to my vagina and down lol,” Burgess wrote via Instagram Story one month after she gave birth to Zane in June 2022, alongside a mirror photo of herself holding her son while wearing a robe over her postpartum underwear. “Postpartum is serious business guys. The body just has to work its way through it slowly. Ladies, our bodies are incredible. I’m in awe and wonder of what’s happening, all while practicing a new level of patience with myself. And it’s worth every single bit.”
That same month, the professional dancer shared that she was not putting any pressure on herself when it comes to her postpartum body.
“Honestly, I thought I would [feel pressure]. I thought I would because of having been an athlete and my body being my career — it’s not just about aesthetics on the outside, it’s about how my core feels to be able to dance and do what I do,” Burgess exclusively told Us Weekly. “I thought I would feel that pressure. [But] I don’t have pressure on myself.”
