It sounds like something out of an Andy Cohen fever dream: a group of beloved Real Housewives gathered together to film a music video celebrating all the work they've had done. But somewhat miraculously, it actually happened—all thanks to Fiber One, whose latest campaign highlights the "work" the brownie has undergone to have fewer calories, fewer net carbs, and fewer grams of sugar. (Get it?)
The accompanying song, "Work Done," includes lyrics like "Yeah, I've had some work done, but Rome wasn't built on wishes" and a video featuring what I'd call the champagne-soaked Justice League: Melissa Gorga (Real Housewives of New Jersey), Porsha Williams (Real Housewives of Atlanta), Sonja Morgan (Real Housewives of New York), Dorinda Medley (Real Housewives of New York), and Tamra Judge (Real Housewives of Orange County).
"Obviously, Housewives are known for putting it all out there," Gorga says when I meet up with her, Williams, and Morgan the day after the campaign's launch. "When I heard I was going to be in a music video—which, by the way, my fans have been asking me to do for years—I was very excited about it. The fans are going crazy because there's Housewives from different franchises together, we're singing, we're dancing…. I mean, we're giving everybody everything they've ever wanted."
For Williams, it's important to make it clear the song's message is all about celebrating who you are, in whatever way that looks like to you. "If you've had actual work done, surgically or not, it's a lifestyle of living better and being guilt free," she explains.
Says Morgan, "We like to empower women and not put them down and say, 'Oh, you've had your nose done' and 'You've had your boobs done.' We're not about that."
"It's not about shaming," Gorga adds. "If something is going to make you feel a little more confident—if you want the bump out of your nose, if you want to enhance your boobs, whatever it may be—it's fair and it's you. If it makes you feel good, then good for you."
Here, we ask the women to tell us more: about plastic surgery, about the pressure of being on TV, and what work, if any, they might do next.
Glamour: So what work have you had done?
Sonja Morgan: Everybody wants to know that!
Porsha Williams: Everything, we're plastic. [Laughs.]
SM: You can ask our viewers. Our viewers know more than we do.
Melissa Gorga: I had breast implants, and I've had a nose job.
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Can you speak more to that—what motivated you at the time, and how you felt after about it?
MG: If I'm being brutally and totally honest, I think it was watching my first season of Housewives. When you see yourself back on TV sometimes you say, "Oh, I didn't know I had a little lump in my nose." As far as my breasts go, I've had them since I was in my 20s, so it wasn't about that for me. My nose was definitely from suddenly going from being a housewife to being on TV and in magazines. I was like, "I never noticed that. I think if I do that little tweak, it'll make me feel better." And I did it and was happy with my results. I mean, everybody's different but for me that's what it was.
SM: For me, it was sort of for convenience as well. I want my clothes to fit well, and I don't have time to try on different sizes. So I did the CoolSculpting on my flanks so there's not that…what do you call them?
PW: Love handles?
SM: Yeah, I don't like the love handles. The muffin top. Also, I had the non-surgical nose job, which is just fillers to lift the tip. So like you said, Melissa, in photos I would see my nose coming down from the side and when I smiled it was exaggerated. I feel so much more comfortable like this. So for me, it was for confidence reasons.
PW: I had my breasts done. I mean, I had a big check from Bravo. It was after my divorce, and that's also along the time when I started my Go Naked Hair company because I realized when I changed my hair it gave me different moods. Short, curly, straight and silky, and sassy. I've always wanted to get my breasts done just to round me out a bit. I always had that athletic build, and I wanted to have a little more feminine touch. It was something I wanted to do for me, and I can be so open about it because I didn't do it for anybody.
SM: No.
PW: It was literally for me. I think that's the biggest thing: Whenever I talk about any type of surgery that we do to ourselves, it's important for me to make sure you put out the message, "Do it for yourself."
SM: Exactly.
That leads me my next question: Why do you think it's important to be open about it?
SM: Well, to inspire people to do it for themselves. It's not for anybody else. It's not going to get you a new job. It's not going to get you new man. And it's not going to change the world, except for feeling better about yourself and being more confident starting inside out.
PW: And to make it super plain, they'll pull up an old picture of you and be like, "Those aren't your breasts!" You do not want the side-by-side on Instagram.
MG: I think it goes with the territory of being on reality television. There aren't many secrets, and you kind of know that getting into it. Anything you've done in your past is coming out, and whatever work you've had done is probably going to come out also.
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Is there any line you wouldn't cross? Free surgeries you've turned down?
SM: Oh, I turn down stuff all the time. People are dying to do our teeth, dying to do our boobs, dying to do our hair, dying to do everything.
MG: We get offers all day long.
SM: Just so they could say they did us—well, that didn't sound right. [Laughs.]
PW: Pause!
Besides yourselves, are there any other Housewives who you think have had fabulous work done?
PW: Yes! And you know, that's why Fiber One chose us because we are very open about what we've had done. A lot of these girls are not open about it. They will lie straight to your face and you can see the stitches. And they will still be like, "No!"
SM: Well, that doesn't make you feel good when someone doesn't share. I love to share! People say, "Who did your teeth?" or "Who did your whatever…." Lift the drapes!
MG: You see why they chose Housewives for this?
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Hah! You touched on this earlier, Melissa, but do you all feel pressure seeing yourself on camera or in photos all the time to change your appearance?
SM: Anyone would.
MG: Yeah, it's natural to feel pressure. I mean, even if you're not on reality television. Right now Instagram and social media have brought so much pressure to everyone. I think you have to learn how to balance it. For me, it's about teaching my daughter that, you know, it's just a picture. It's not reality with a lot of that because I think people set up situations to make it look like they're in paradise when they're just sitting in their backyard with some props.
SM: I tell my daughter it's not like it looks. They could be miserable on that fabulous private jet.
PW: Being on television, we carry a certain amount of responsibility to our younger fans—and to other women like me, for instance, who have just had children who are looking at a picture of me on Instagram like, "She is snatched!" It's important for me to also post a picture with my stomach when it's bloated to let you know that today I'm wearing the shapewear. So they don't have the expectations on themselves and that type of pressure. It's relieving to be as open as I am because other people who are sitting at home watching us—we don't need them feeling bad about themselves. We are not perfect by far. Even with the work that we've had done, we're still working on ourselves. Just feel good and celebrate who you are.
Okay, last question: Is there anything you're thinking about doing?
SM: We all have our lines and businesses…
MG: Oh no, you mean work done, right? I'm seeing a lot of butts on Instagram. But my husband's not into it. I was like, "Fine." I'm just so sick of squatting.
SM: Fiber One bars, they're not magic, but if I incorporate them with a healthy lifestyle, I see a difference. It's not a magic bullet. Nothing is—no surgery or bar or working out is going to be enough. It has to be a lifestyle.
Anna Moeslein is a senior editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @annamoeslein.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
