1 day ago

Paul GlynnCulture reporter

PA

Singer and recent Celebrity Traitors finalist Cat Burns has celebrated the start of her "new life" following breast reduction surgery.

Burns, 25, posted online to say she had undergone surgery after years of discomfort.

She wrote that "the amount of relief and happiness" she was now feeling was "overwhelming", having struggled with her body since she was 12 years old.

Sharing the news via her Instagram story - alongside a picture of her in a hospital bed - the performer revealed she "had a big fat cry" once she saw her mum, sister and girlfriend.

'Pain when exercising'

"I've always struggled with my boobies since they arrived on my chest at like 12, they caused me so much pain when exercising and I deeply hated the oversexualisation it brought," she explained.

"I tried so many different ways to work with my body and wear different bras etc but I thought while I'm young and healthy and by the universe's grace [I] am able to go through with this surgery, I want to love my body going into the next part of my life!"

The Londoner released her second album, How To Be Human, in October, peaking at number five in the charts.

It dropped less than a week before she was banished in the final of the celebrity edition of the popular BBC reality gameshow Traitors, which was ultimately won by her fellow Traitor, comedian Alan Carr.

She confirmed she was feeling "OK" after her operation, which she noted had gone "really well".

"Today marks the start of my new life!"

Breast reduction surgery

Breast reduction surgery might be available to those suffering health problems, if other options such as wearing professionally fitted bras have not worked.

According to the NHS website, problems caused by having very large breasts include:

• Back, shoulder or neck pain
• Skin irritation under the breasts
• Grooves on the shoulders from bra straps
• Low self-esteem or depression
• Not being able to take part in sport or exercise

But some women have been unable to get the operation, for reasons including their body mass index (BMI) being too high.

Last month, Gill Baird, owner of Cosmedicare and founder of St Ellens' Hospitals, told BBC Scotland: "There are thousands of people waiting for surgery from before Covid and the NHS are only seeing the most extreme cases just now."

Figures from the the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) have stated that for 2023 to 2024, breast reduction was the second-most common surgical procedure, after breast augmentation.

Getty Images

England rugby union player Rosie Galligan is another star to have spoken openly about her "boob journey"

Burns is not the first famous person to speak publicly about the benefits of the procedure.

In 2024, England rugby union player Rosie Galligan told BBC Sport: "If I didn't have my reduction, I don't think I'd be where I am today. Both on a confidence and physical level."

She added: "Having the reduction is definitely one of the best things that's happened for my sporting career and it's definitely helped me get to where I am today," she said.

"I've embraced my boob journey, it's something that's now part of my sporting journey."

'Over sexualised'

US chat show host and actress Drew Barrymore last year mentioned on her own show that she was glad to have had a breast reduction as a teenager.

"I really love my body and the way it is right now," she said. "There's something very awkward about women and their breasts because men look at them so much.

"When they're huge, you become very self-conscious. Your back hurts. You find that whatever you wear, you look heavy in. It's uncomfortable."

In an interview with Glamour in 2015, Modern Family actress Ariel Winter said that before her operation: "It started to hurt so bad that I couldn't take the pain."

It wasn't only physical pain that she was referring to, but objectification too.

"It made me feel really uncomfortable because as women in the industry, we are totally over sexualised and treated like objects," she continued.

"Every article that has to do with me on a red carpet always had to do with, 'Ariel Winter's crazy cleavage!', or, 'Ariel Winter shows huge boobs at an event!'. That's all people would recognise me by, not, 'oh, she does great work on Modern Family'."

Additional reporting by Kate Moore.