‘The Swan’ Star Kristy Garza Shares Behind-the-Scenes Details of Her Makeover Reveal

Kristy Garza was only 23 years old when she was selected as a contestant for The Swan, the controversial FOX reality series following women who were given extreme makeovers, including thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgery and dental work. For three months, these women weren’t allowed to see themselves, which led to a big reveal of their new look.

After the reveals, two women would be pitted against each other, and one would be chosen to move on to the pageant. In this final round, the remaining women would compete for the title of “The Swan.” Garza wasn’t selected for the pageant, but The Swan had a lasting impact on her life, which she discussed in Hulu’s The Swan: Behind the Mirror.

“I felt shame up until the point when we started doing this documentary,” Garza told TV Insider. “I still carried a lot of shame from it. I had kind of compartmentalized it, but I felt shame. I would have much rather told somebody I had an STD than tell them I was on that show.”

Garza opened about her makeover reveal and what was really going through her head. “If you look at my eyes and my expressions, and then see me cover my face… I come from a military police background, like intel and interrogations and things like that. My body language is saying I’m ashamed. And that hair, what the f**k was that hair? And that hideous gown. I’ve seen better ball gowns at a Baptist potluck. I was just like, what did you do to me? I don’t feel like I look that different when I show people before and after pictures. It was like minor tweaks.”

Contestant Cristina Tyree was selected for the pageant over Garza. She was then brought back as a wildcard and not chosen again “I’m 23 years old. I just had a quarter million dollar makeover, and I’m not good enough,” Garza said.

After The Swan, Garza’s life began to crumble. “I went on this path of self-destruction,” she said. “My young self couldn’t differentiate between positive and negative attention. I think women have a tendency to over-sexualize themselves because it’s quick attention, and you feed off that when you have little to no esteem in yourself. And so I did that. I went off the rails, and I self-medicated with drugs and alcohol and a wild lifestyle. It made me a bad sister and a bad mom and a bad friend for a lot of years, but I didn’t have any conscious awareness of that.”

She added. “When I was alone, I had no esteem. I believed in myself for my intelligence and and my abilities, but I never felt pretty, and I think it had a lot to do with The Swan. I’m not going to blame The Swan for all of my life problems or my mental health struggles or any of that, but it really did exacerbate the brokenness that I had.”

One of the notable figures not in The Swan: Behind the Mirror documentary is The Swan’s creator, Nely Galán. When asked whether or not she’d want to confront Galán if given the chance, Garza replied, “That’s something that I joke about all the time. But the more I think about it, I don’t know if I want to give her any more time of my life. You took something from me that it took me 22 years to get back, and I wish you well. Go walk with God, but stay the f**k out of my face.”

Today, Garza is doing well. She’s embracing her journey self-love and seeing a therapist regularly. Garza is medically retired due to a heart condition. “My life is very peaceful. I spend time with my grandkids,” she revealed.

She also has a close bond with many of her fellow contestants from The Swan, who all reunited in the documentary. “They’ve celebrated all my joys and cried with me when I was sad, and there’s so much beauty in it, and I don’t think that could be recreated,” she said.

The Swan: Behind the Mirror, Streaming Now, Hulu