MAFS Australia star announces she’s reshaping her ribs for ‘Barbie waist’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page A Married at First Sight Australia star has revealed she is undergoing a controversial sculpting surgery to give her a ‘Barbie waist’. Bec Zacharia said she is travelling to Bali for the procedure, which is highly restricted in her home country and in other nations. Fans of the reality TV star reacted with shock to her revelation, which involves invasive rib contouring. Critics argue the trend promotes unrealistic beauty standards and raises concerns about the risks of invasive cosmetic procedures being marketed on social media. As of last year, experts warned in a medical review that there was not enough evidence of the ‘long-term safety’ of the procedure. In a video posted on her socials, the contestant from season 13 of MAFS Australia she had decided to go ahead with rib contouring after thinking about it ‘long and hard’. Bec previously postponed the procedure but told fans in her video that she felt upset after doing so (Picture: bec_zac) What are the dangers of rib contouring? Plastic surgeons have warned that rib contouring can cause pneumothorax , otherwise known as a collapsed lung. Dr Steven Teitelbaum, a Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon, told Allure : ‘The risk of it will probably never be eliminated.’ In 2025, a medical review published in the National Library of Medicine concluded that there isn’t enough evidence for the long-term safety of the procedure , outlining: ‘Rib remodeling appears to offer a less invasive alternative to full-rib resection, with a reduced risk of complications. However, the current literature is insufficient to provide conclusive evidence regarding the long-term safety and efficacy of these procedures.’ It’s been reported that in Brazil, the Brazilian Federal Council of Medicine has classed cosmetic rib remodelling as ‘experimental’ . José Armando Faria Jr, the President of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery, said in a statement translated from Portuguese: ‘The CFM’s decision is law and must be respected. If new studies emerge tomorrow that show safety, then a new evaluation can be requested. But, for now, it is prohibited.’ According to the publication news.com.au , the procedure, nicknamed ‘Barbie waist’, is not approved in Australia. According to a paper published in the National Library of Medicine , rib remodelling particularly targets ribs 11 and 12 to reduce waist circumference. It has emerged as a trend among women to reshape their bodies to achieve a smaller waist that would otherwise be humanly unattainable. The author of the paper, Alfredo E Hoyos, said that even rib remodelling procedures that are regarded as being less invasive can ‘result in severe postoperative pain requiring opioid treatment’. In a previous video, Bec discussed some of the reasoning behind wanting to get the proced