Amy Kaplan says her decision to undergo a facelift was driven by a simple feeling: the woman she saw in the mirror no longer matched the energy she felt inside.
The 63-year-old Los Angeles mother, who appeared on The Golden Bachelor Season 2, recently shared her experience publicly with her twin daughters, influencers Allie Kaplan Rutstein and Lexi Kaplan Giudic. The family has been documenting Kaplan’s surgery and recovery on social media to show what cosmetic procedures are really like beyond the usual before-and-after photos.
“What motivated me to get a facelift was that I still feel like I’m 30 inside,” Kaplan told People. “I have the same energy and vibrancy, but when I looked in the mirror, it didn’t match how I felt.”
Kaplan says she has long focused on maintaining her health. Since turning 40, she has exercised for two hours a day, maintained a healthy diet and stayed physically active.
“I can still wear a bikini and feel great,” she said. “But when you catch yourself pulling your face up in the mirror thinking, ‘Okay, this looks better,’ that’s when you know it might be time.”
For the procedure, Kaplan stayed at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, a five-star hotel located near the surgical center where the facelift was performed. The overnight stay was not simply for comfort; it was required by her surgeon as part of the recovery protocol.
According to Kaplan, patients must spend the first night close to the clinic with a nurse present to ensure they are monitored and able to return easily for a follow-up visit the next morning.
Despite the luxurious surroundings, Kaplan says the recovery process has been challenging.
“Healing isn’t linear,” she said. “One day you take two steps forward, the next day maybe one step back. The swelling moves, the lymph nodes drain and fluid shifts every day.”
She added that the recovery has required significant rest and even unexpected changes in appetite.
“I still feel like I’m in recovery mode,” Kaplan said. “I need more sleep and more calories. My body is craving carbs and fatty foods to heal.”
Throughout the process, her daughters have been closely involved. Both have shared regular updates with followers on Instagram and TikTok, showing moments from consultation to daily recovery.
Allie Kaplan Rutstein said seeing her mother improve has been emotional for the family.
“We’re all really close,” she said. “It’s exciting to see her getting happier and more confident with the results.”
Kaplan has been staying at Lexi Kaplan Giudic’s home during recovery, giving the family additional time together. Lexi said the experience has strengthened their daily routine despite the healing process.
“She’s been staying with me and my husband since the surgery,” she said. “Even though she’s recovering, we’ve been cooking together most nights and going grocery shopping together.”
The sisters said sharing the experience online felt natural, but they also hoped to reveal a more realistic side of cosmetic surgery.
“Usually when celebrities or influencers have plastic surgery, you only see the before and after,” Lexi explained. “You rarely see the actual journey.”
By documenting the process, the family hoped to show both the glamorous and difficult moments. One such moment came when Kaplan left the surgical center and was driven to the hotel in the property’s Rolls-Royce house car.
“All bandaged up, she pulled up to the hotel and a bellhop was waiting with a wheelchair,” Allie said. “It felt like such an iconic moment that I had to film it.”
Another moment that stood out was when Lexi saw her mother immediately after surgery.
“I’d never seen her like that before,” she said. “It was shocking and a little scary.”
Even then, Kaplan kept her sense of humor.
“She was still cracking jokes,” Lexi said. “She was still herself.”
The family emphasized that their goal in sharing the journey is not to promote plastic surgery, but to offer an honest look at the experience.
“We hope it helps people feel more comfortable sharing their own experiences — the good, the bad and the scary,” Allie said.
“At the end of the day,” the sisters added, “everyone should do what makes them feel happy and confident.”