SURROUNDED by surgically enhanced co-stars on Towie, Megan McKenna felt she “needed” a boob job.
But the reality TV favourite turned singer is relieved she decided against going under the knife — and is now happier than ever with her body.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, the 29-year- old Essex-born star reveals how she deals with online abuse and opens up about her recent break-up with Josh Riley.
Megan, who auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor before finding fame six years ago on Ex On The Beach, Celebrity Big Brother and Towie, said: “Back in the day I definitely considered getting my boobs done.
“Maybe it was the crowd and the TV shows I was on that were making me feel like I needed that.
“But I am so happy I didn’t have that done, because I love my boobs now.”
READ MORE ON MEGAN MCKENNA
Megan says people often assume she has had cosmetic surgery anyway — because of her curvy bottom.
She said: “I do get a lot of compliments about my bum. They say it’s really plump and big.
“And they always say to me, ‘Have you had it done?’ And I’m like, ‘How dare you? No!’
“There are always trends. There’s always times when people want this big and that big and want this sucked out and this and that.
“But I feel like, the way the world is going, people should embrace their natural looks.
“And the most compliments I get is because I’m 100 per cent natural.
“So I’m so happy that I’ve kept my body the way it is. I would never change it.
“And surgery can get addictive. Ultimately, you are what you are.”
Megan has transformed from a reality star into a bona fide country music act in recent years, topping the iTunes country charts with her debut album Story Of Me in 2018.
In 2019 she sang her way to victory on X Factor: Celebrity, performing Leona Lewis’s One More Sleep in the show’s final.
And when she supported pop legend Sir Tom Jones, 81, on tour last autumn, she was taken aback by his fans’ wild antics.
She said: “I even saw this old lady with a Zimmer frame walk to the front and throw her knickers at him.
“It was unbelievable. How brilliant is that?
“I thought, ‘Wow! Who gets to sit in the front row and see an old lady with a Zimmer frame throw her knickers at Tom Jones? Me!’ ”
Despite “owning it” on stage, Megan has faced a torrent of abuse from trolls on social media.
She was even forced to deny having six toes on one foot after a dodgy picture angle in an Instagram post led to her receiving cruel messages.
She said: “I can laugh about it now but these are the things the trolls would just create some huge drama about.
“There was a photo of my foot and obviously my bone was at the side and it looked like a sixth toe.
“I was getting really nasty messages sent to me and I had to prove to people that I didn’t have six toes. It was ridiculous.”
Megan has been diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition which sees the immune system react to gluten, and irritable bowel syndrome.
It means her weight can fluctuate — leading to more abuse. At her lowest weight she was even accused of “smoking crack”.
Megan said: “I get called terrible things — ‘anorexic’, ‘you look like the Grim Reaper’.
“How are people spending their time trolling me about these things?
“With celiac disease your belly just flares up. People need to understand that.
“Do they think I’m on some ridiculous diet trying to lose weight Maybe you should step back a minute.
“Don’t troll me and, you know, I can deal with bad stomach issues.
“I’m not there promoting a weight- loss brand. People just have no filter and no heart. I don’t really get it.”
She also receives “a lot” of unsolicited dirty images on social media.
Megan adds: “I have had d**k pics sent to me on Instagram. “I don’t really get why guys do that. Like, what do they think I’m going to do?
Turn around and go, ‘Oh, my God, your d**k looks amazing! Yes. Yes. DM me’. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Megan recently split from her boyfriend Josh, 28, the owner of a luxury fashion brand, after 20 months of dating.
The break-up was “amicable” and the singer insists she feels no pressure to settle down soon.
She said: “I feel like there’s all this pressure to get married and have kids and I just think, ‘I don’t know’.
“Who said this is what you need to do at this age? I feel like my life hasn’t even started yet.”
In ten years she would love to be travelling the world “on my big tour bus, maybe cracking America”.
She added: “You never know who you’re going to meet along the way.”
While her music career is now her main focus, Megan has impressed fans with her skills in the kitchen on Celebrity MasterChef.
She is also releasing a book, Can You Make That Gluten-Free? after struggling to enjoy eating out due to her restricted diet.
She jokes: “I could definitely see myself being the girl version of Gordon Ramsay.
“I wouldn’t swear as much, but I would like to sing to them instead.”
And Megan is happier than ever after struggling with anxiety.
Her ex-boyfriend, Love Island’s Mike Thalassitis, took his own life aged 26 in 2019 and she went to therapy after suffering panic attacks following his death.
Megan said: “That really did help. It makes me look at things in a different way.
“Growing up, you get things thrown at you and you need to just work through it. That’s all part of life.
“Obviously, it’s a bit more difficult with someone in the industry, because you’ve got millions of people commenting while you’re trying to work through things in your personal life.
“But this is the world I’ve always wanted to live in.
“Back in Towie, a lot of people want to be with you — you know, hang around you with you to get some likes on Instagram.
“And it’s quite sad. But in the world I am in now, it isn’t like that.”
Megan is not in touch with any of her old Towie co-stars apart from James “Arg” Argent. She said: “I never really hung around with them.
“When I was doing the show I had some acquaintances there, but they weren’t really my friends.
“If I see anyone I’d obviously say hello, but the only friend I have and still see is Arg. We were friends before I was even on TV.”
Megan spends the most time with her old mates and family.
She admits: “I’ve never really been that girl that goes out and has 1,000 celebrity friends. I have the odd couple.
“But I have my friends and family around me from when I was young, and who I trust.
“I’ve learned that growing up in the industry, you can only trust your close friends and family.
“You’ve got to be careful who you hang around with.”
Megan will turn 30 in September and says she is “content” getting older.
She said: “I do my country music, the people I surround myself with are a very tight group.
“I trust everybody. It’s not about being out on the scene with all these people and all these fake people around you all the time.
“That’s not what my life is about. Now I’ve got a close group and I love that.”
She has also recently dyed her brunette locks platinum blonde and says with a laugh: “Sod it, blondes have more fun. It’s a completely different image to what I used to have.
Read More on The Sun
“I loved young Megan, I loved what I looked like.
“But I’m just content, I feel like I’m a completely different person. I’ve grown up.”
