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The Swan: Behind the Mirror: Reflecting on the Biggest Revelations

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A new documentary is exploring how The Swan fouled its own nest.

Hulu’s The Swan: Behind the Mirror revisits the controversial reality series from the aughts that promoted transforming women from “ugly ducklings into drop-dead beauties” through “radical” makeovers, then had them compete in a beauty pageant.

However, former contestants and producers in the documentary said the show was initially sold to them as a life transformation series that included plastic surgery and coaching with the aim of helping women who dealt with insecurities build confidence.

“The transformation that we are encouraging women to have is inside out,” series creator Nely Galán, who declined to be interviewed for the documentary, said in a resurfaced clip. “I mean, these women get a therapist, a trainer, yes, a plastic surgeon, a dentist.”

Still, the contestants alleged this wasn’t fully the version of the show that they got.

“It could’ve been a beautiful story,” season two contestant Dore Weber said in the doc, “but it turned into a reality nightmare.”

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Celebs Who’ve Admitted to Getting Plastic Surgery or Cosmetic Procedures

Led by what The Swan called its “team of experts,” the contestants were shown undergoing a long list of plastic surgeries and dental procedures, crash dieting, spending hours at the gym and attending therapy sessions. Although, Galán has admitted the show featured more of the outer work than inner work.

“The audience didn’t get to see the degree to which those women had to go to therapy every day,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2025. “Because the whole point was even if you change your looks, if you don’t change your inside, you’re going to still have all the issues that you had before.”

After their 90-day transformation, the women saw themselves for the first time in what was considered the big reveal (while some of the former contestants noted their reactions were genuine, others have said they had to refilm their reveals multiple times to appear more excited). Then, the participants were pitted against each other to see who would go on to compete in the pageant.

“I don’t know what fresh hell you live in where you think it’s OK to bring these women into a program under the guise that you’re giving them the gift of a lifetime and then immediately pit them against the very women that they bonded with this whole time to go to your backwoods beauty pageant,” season one’s Kristy Garza said in the doc. “They didn’t look at us and see us. They saw dollar signs.”

For her part, Galán told EW the competition to go to the pageant wasn’t her idea and that she “thought everybody should go.”

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Throughout the documentary, the former contestants describe the physical and emotional toll of the show.

“I don’t regret the surgeries I did,” season two’s Gina Bravata noted. “I just regret that the process of getting there tore us down quite a bit.”

And many have spoken about the sisterhood they formed through it all.

“If I had to do it all over again, I would compete on The Swan,” season one’s Kelly Alemi shared, “because I would not have met the people that have helped me survive in the last 22 years.”

To read some of the revelations from The Swan: Behind the Mirror, flock on.

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On the PageantDebuting in 2004, The Swan was a reality TV series that followed women it deemed “ugly ducklings” as they underwent “radical” makeovers and then competed in a beauty pageant.But in the documentary The Swan: Behind the Mirror, former participants alleged they didn’t even know about the pageant until after they’d signed on to the show.”None of that was mentioned before,” season one’s Kristy Garza said in the Hulu doc. “Yeah, we did sign up to be filmed. Yes, we did sign up to share our stories. We didn’t sign up for a pageant.”The documentary notes that former Fox Head of Alternative Programming Mike Darnell declined to be interviewed. E! News also reached out to Galán, Fox, and Fremantle and attempted to contact Darnell through his current employer Netflix. However, E! did not receive any comment.

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On Plastic SurgeriesThe Swan had a “team of experts,” including plastic surgeons Dr. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Randal Haworth.In the episodes, contestants detailed their insecurities and expressed excitement over making a few physical changes. However, some women in the documentary said they felt pressured to get the multiple procedures the surgeons presented in their transformation plans.With her plan consisting of a nose job, lip enhancement, breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tuck and more, season one’s Beth Harris said she was told “that if I didn’t get everything that was on my list, I would be sent home.”Added season one’s Cindy Ingle, “I didn’t feel like I could say, ‘No, I don’t want that.’ Or, ‘Not so much of that.’ I trusted them and let them do it.”Meanwhile, season one’s Tawnya Perrotta suggested she wasn’t sent to the pageant because she refused certain facial procedures.”I was disappointed,” she said. “But on the other hand, I was kind of proud of myself for not letting them go in and just do whatever they wanted to do.”However, Haworth—who called the show “empowering”—denied the allegation contestants didn’t have a choice.”There are no victims in life. There are only volunteers,” he said in the doc. “And as long as people understand what they’re getting into and they’re of sound mind, sound intent, and there’s no hidden agenda here, then that’s solely up to the individual to make that decision—is it not?” E! has reached out to him but has yet to receive comment.

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On Complications & RecoverySeason two’s Kari Bravata had a health scare when doctors tried to wake her from her procedure.”I wasn’t really breathing and there was something about fluid in my lungs,” she recalled. “They saw my oxygen go lower and lower until everyone was just kicked out.”According to Bravata, a nurse told her she may have experienced chest compressions. “It doesn’t sit right,” the former contestant admitted. “Like, I almost died for reality television.”The show didn’t dive deep into what happened. During Bravata’s episode, Haworth said his team “uncovered some potentially dangerous medical conditions” in the first surgical stage but that she was still able to undergo the transformation.Other women made allegations about the quality of aftercare. Noting they might see a nurse only once or twice a day, Ingle said, “We basically took care of ourselves.”

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On Diet & Workout PlansThe Swan also brought in panelists for therapy, food and exercise plans.Harris said the show’s creator and life coach Nely Galán “put us on a 1,200-calorie a day diet” while season two’s Dore Weber alleged she was restricted to about 500 to 800 calories. As for the workouts, The Swan’s rules allegedly required participants to exercise about six days a week, sometimes twice a day, even as they were recovering from surgery.In addition to Galán, E! News reached out to trainers on the show but did not receive comment.

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On “Shady” TacticsFormer show producer Jenna Baker said the “money shot” was getting contestants to cry on camera.Looking back at what she described as the “worst moment” of her career, she recalled how surgeons discovered cancer inside contestant Patti Chedohan‘s nose. “The production team was giddy about the diagnosis because of the storyline,” Baker said. “Her husband had died of cancer and now she had cancer.”Weber, who’d experienced pregnancy loss, said a cameraman also asked her, “‘How does it feel that everybody else can have kids and you can’t have any?’”Reflecting on how the show was “trying to open up wounds,” she said, “It was just shady some of the tactics that they used. It was despicable.”

On a Nude PhotoshootIn the documentary, season two’s Amy Williams and KariBravata detailed an incident where a photographer allegedly took nude pictures of contestants during a photoshoot at Dr. Haworth’s office garage despite the women expressing discomfort. Haworth said in the doc that the photos were for a coffee table book that was never published.“I still have those pictures,” he stated. “It was an art project.”Haworth also said everyone gave their consent. “Not even a question,” he replied, denying the photoshoot was anything else. “I would never do that.”

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On Surgical Issues Post-Show Several women said they experienced complications from their procedures after the show. Ingle, for instance, said her implant “popped” and Bravata said temporary teeth provided by Dr. Sherri Worth “fell out constantly.”E! News reached out to Worth’s old dental practice for comment—as she surrendered her license in 2017, per court documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times—but has not heard back. Harris also said her “left breast became encapsulated,” causing it to shift.”Dr. Dubrow fixed it, but then it had dropped and it still wasn’t right,” she said, “And that was it—just had to kind of live with it.”In a statement to E! News, Dubrow said he “sat down and listened to the stories” of several women from the series. “I want to thank each of them for sharing their experiences so openly,” he said. “Their voices deserve to be heard, and I recognize the weight of what they’ve shared. I take seriously my role in the series and the responsibility that comes with revisiting that chapter of television history. I wish each of them continued healing and peace moving forward.”

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