More than 30 years after she left Baywatch, Nicole Eggert admits she completely regrets getting breast implants for the show when she was 18.
While speaking to PEOPLE, Eggert opened up about her decision to go under the knife for her Baywatch role and the scrutiny that came with starring in the long-running series. “I needed to get away from it,” she explained.
Nicole Eggert also said that she felt Baywatch exploited her body at a time when she felt emotionally fragile. During her first day of shooting in 1992, Eggert recalled the beachy set. “Oh my God, we’re going to be in a bathing suit all day every day,” she said.
Quickly remembering her discomfort, Eggert said she thought she auditioned for a spin-off series focusing on children at a Malibu high school. She didn’t know it was for a role as a Baywatch lifeguard. “All the girls worked out and were super tiny and fit,” she continued. “And I was like, ‘Whoops.’”
She also said that the famous Baywatch red one-piece bathroom wasn’t flattering. “I didn’t want to wear it at all. It just wasn’t what I signed up for. It was a totally different show and ballgame and not where I wanted to be.”
During a random break from filming, Nicole Eggert decided to have breast implants done. She was 18 at the time. “I regret it now, of course,” she explained. “I looked a tall these younger girls doing it and think, ‘God, leave your bodies alone!’ But when you have to put on that one-piece and it’s like you’re so flat that it’s like pleating – you got pleats across the front… You’re like ‘What is this?’ Nothing you can do. you can’t stuff it with anything. you can’t do anything.”
Eggert was on the show for its third and fourth seasons before quitting in 1994.
‘Baywatch’ Producer Michael Berk Once Said Nicole Eggert Felt a Little Competitive With Pamela Anderson on the Show
While promoting the 2017 film Baywatch, the show’s original producers Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz spoke about Nicole Eggert being on the show.
“[Nicole Eggert] felt a little competitive with Pam[ela Anderson],” Berk told The Hollywood Reporter. “There was a holiday weekend, and for a couple of days, she called in sick afterward. Then she showed up back on the set having gotten a boob job.”
Despite Berk’s claims, Eggert stated that she never felt competitive with Anderson. She also didn’t call off sick when she had her implants done. “Those guys – they really like to make stuff up,” she declared. “It was on downtime from the show, and they knew [about my surgery].”
As for Anderson, Eggert stated she always admired her Baywatch co-star’s natural beauty. “I always knew Pamela was prettier and more natural,” she added. “I kind of wondered why she always did so much makeup. But it was her thing and the look she was going for.”