Growing up on reality TV means fans feel entitled to an opinion on everything, and for Antonia Gorga, daughter of RHONJ’s Melissa and Joe Gorga, having a rhinoplasty at 20 meant that kind of attention was coming either way. So the reality star got ahead of it, documenting her surgery with New York facial plastic surgeon Sam Rizk, MD, in real time on social media.
“I feel like people would have noticed,” Gorga tells NewBeauty exclusively. “I wanted to bring it to light before anyone else noticed. Plus, I like being honest with my fans and it’s just good content that people would love to see.”
Ahead, Gorga shares everything: the decision, the recovery and the results she’s still watching unfold.
Years in the Making
A rhinoplasty had been on Gorga’s mind for a while. Sports through high school made the timing impossible, and college wasn’t much easier. She finally stopped waiting. “I always was nervous to do it,” she says. “But I ended up just pulling the trigger now, and I’m glad I did.”
What she wanted wasn’t a dramatic change. “My nose was very crooked,” she explains. “I wanted to keep it as natural as possible but make it straighter and more defined.”
Dr. Rizk found she also had a deviated septum contributing to asymmetry and some functional breathing concerns. “Antonia was an excellent candidate because she had very clear, realistic goals and had been thinking about this decision for years,” he says.
“I Had a Little Bit of an Identity Crisis”
When the cast came off, the first reaction surprised her. “I had a little bit of an identity crisis, to be honest,” she says. “I was like, ‘What am I looking at?’ But I actually loved it. I immediately saw how straight it was, and I gasped. I really loved it. It looks completely different than it did when I got my cast off, though. Now the swelling went down a lot.”
The hardest part of recovery had nothing to do with pain. Staying elevated on her back was what got to her. “Definitely the sleeping,” she says.
The Results Are Still Developing
Rhinoplasty swelling can take up to a year to fully resolve, and Gorga knows she’s still early in that process. The tip is slightly more swollen after time outside, and she’s watching it shift a little every morning. “I definitely think when the swelling goes down more, I’ll like it better,” she says. “The tip of my nose is definitely more swelled than usual, especially when I go outside.”
For anyone considering the procedure, her advice is less about the surgery and more about what comes after. “Be mentally prepared. I feel like it’s more of a mental battle than it is physical. It’s not that painful. You just have to be patient with the swelling and how you look because your nose changes every day.”
For someone who spent years talking herself into it, the verdict came quickly. “I just love how it’s my nose, but better.”
