A nose job may not sound like a vacation, but Margaret Josephs turned hers into something close. After noticing subtle facial changes following weight loss (“I was one of the first to go on a GLP-1,” she says), the Real Housewives of New Jersey star flew west and checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel, not for an escape, but for a little “work.” “If you’re going to recover,” she laughs, “you recover there.”
Mirror Moments
For Josephs, the idea of a nose job wasn’t something she’d been circling for years—it arrived later. “I never thought I had a big nose,” she says. “I never hated my nose.” What caught her attention were small changes she couldn’t unsee. “As we get older, the cartilage just isn’t as supportive. I started noticing in all my photos that the tip of my nose was drooping, and I was like, what is going on?”
Months of taking GLP-1 meds had also slimmed her face. “I don’t know if it was because I lost weight, or whatever it was, but my nose tip was drooping,” she says. “It was looking crazy.” More than anything, the reality star didn’t want a new look, but just a return to her former self. “I wanted to look refreshed, rejuvenated. I never want to look different.”
Face Time
Josephs consulted several surgeons, but nothing felt quite right. One plastic surgeon told her she had a masculine nose and suggested an aggressive overhaul. “I was like, nonsense,” she says. “The virtual after photos didn’t look like me at all.” She later consulted Beverly Hills, CA plastic surgeon Gary Motykie, MD. A virtual consultation focused on a more conservative approach. “He was straightforward with me,” she says. “He told me I didn’t need much, just a small adjustment.”
Tiny Tweaks
The plan was conservative: a scarless rhinoplasty to refine the tip and smooth a small bump. That bump, Dr. Motykie explained, was contributing to the way her nose shifted when she smiled. “It really was just a small refinement,” Josephs says.
Although it wasn’t part of her original plan, Dr. Motykie addressed a deviated septum he noticed during surgery. And because GLP-1–related weight loss had left her face looking hollow, he also used her own fat to gently restore volume, redistributing small amounts across the face. “That’s why, in the early photos, I looked very bruised and very crazy,” she says.
Despite the bruising, she was surprised by how little swelling there was in her nose. “That was actually the least swollen,” Josephs says. “It was my face adjusting around it.”
Room Service
“I was like, I’m going to hole up at he Beverly Hills Hotel like a vintage socialite,” Josephs says of her recovery plan. Once she checked in, she fully leaned into it. “There was that Town & Country article, ‘The Hermit in the Penthouse,’ and I thought, that’s me,” she says. “I would head downstairs in big sunglasses and scare the small children.”
Recovery quickly became part of her routine. “I think people heal better when they’re not at home,” Josephs says. “There’s nothing better than recovering at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Everyone treated me beautifully.” During the week after surgery, she returned to her surgeon’s office for red light therapy and laser treatments to help fade bruising.
Quiet Results
When the bandages came off, the change felt subtle, not dramatic. “It’s like using FaceApp to make the tiniest tweak,” Josephs says. “It was so slight that my kids didn’t even know I did it.”
By BravoCon in November, fans noticed something but couldn’t quite put their finger on it. “Everyone kept saying, ‘Your skin looks great. Your face looks great. What’s different?’”
The small refinement was the final touch. “Your features can change, but a little tweak can bring you back to yourself,” she says. “I call it a nasal rejuvenation.” Her advice? Invest in recovery (she likes the Beverly Hills Hotel) or a quality aftercare facility.
