'I had to keep lying to my kids about my shameful secret'

From the age of 41, the mum of two says she was "addicted." 

For years, mum Julie Cook juggled the stresses of motherhood with wanting to maintain a youthful appearance.

Her go-to solution ended up being countless rounds of what she refers to as "Botox injections", totaling around $17,000 of her family's funds over five years.

And these cosmetic treatments came at even more of a cost when she had to start lying to her kids about them in order to hide her "shame".  

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"I had to lie"

"I hated lying, but I had to," Cook wrote in The Sun. 

"I felt ashamed to admit to my two children, then aged six and 11, that mummy was off to blow the family finances on vanity."

With the approval of her husband, Cook began her injectables habit when she was 41, smoothing away some forehead wrinkles.

From there, she says she became "addicted" and ended up going every three months for a top-up and, at 42, added cheek filler to the mix.

So, how did she explain the constant post-procedures swelling and needle marks to her kids?

Cook admits she had a whole array of excuses up her sleeve...

"One day, when I had particularly swollen cheeks, my son asked what was wrong. 'Dentist,' I blurted out. 'Anaesthetic. It’ll go down'," she said.

She said she made these lies up mainly because she felt guilty, but she also didn't want her kids to grow up thinking they needed the same 'tweakments'. 

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She finally revealed the truth

A turning point came when Cook went to get a thread lift, a procedure involving inserting tiny threads into your face to give you a 'lift', usually around the eyes and cheekbones.

Cook looked in the mirror after the procedure and gasped.

"I had red pock marks all over my swollen face," she said.

Her children were shocked too, but thinking quickly, Cook explained it away with yet another lie - she had "acupuncture for teeth grinding."

They believed it, but it sparked a realisation within her. 

The charade finally ended earlier this year when Cook’s daughter had a day off school coinciding with a cosmetic appointment.

Unable to reschedule, Cook took her daughter along.

She ended up telling her the truth in the waiting room, and her daughter ended up being more "curious" than concerned and even sat in on the appointment to watch.

When she told her son, he just shrugged. 

Now, Cook says she feels "relieved" she can be open about her procedures with her kids. 

"Pretty much every friend I have has it and there’s really no judgment among women."

Originally published as 'I had to keep lying to my kids about my shameful secret'