Former ‘The Swan’ Contestant Says Her ‘Free’ Makeover Came at a Hidden Cost

Before the cameras ever rolled, she was juggling military service, a long-distance marriage, and a toddler at home. Two decades later, she's reflecting candidly on everything that followed.

The women who competed on the controversial 2000s reality series "The Swan" saw an opportunity to improve their lives when they signed up — and Kristy Garza was no exception.

Garza appears in Hulu's new documentary "The Swan: Behind the Mirror," directed by Erin Lee Carr, which revisits and examines the 2004 show's contentious legacy. The series ran for just two seasons before coming to an end.

In a new interview with People, Garza revealed that she was wrapping up her time in the military when she applied for the show. "For me, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. We refer to it as 'the golden ticket,'" she shared.

"We were like, 'What? A life coach, a therapist, a personal trainer, an esthetician, a plastic surgeon? This is amazing,'" she continued. "I saw an advertisement for it on KTLA because I was stationed in Southern California at the time. And I just thought, 'I've got to do this.'"

Even so, the decision wasn't a simple one for Garza. After landing a spot on the show, she still had personal matters to sort out. Not only was she married, but she and her husband were stationed three hours apart, and they had a three-year-old daughter at the time.

"He was at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, and I was at Fort Irwin near Barstow. But my daughter was 3 years old at the time, and that was really tough," she said. Still, the prospect of spending 90 days away didn't intimidate her.

"I had been through basic training, so I was like, 'If I can do that, I can do this,'" she said of her mindset at the time. "So I made all the arrangements for my then-mother-in-law to take my daughter, and her dad was super supportive. I was like, 'Alright, I'm going to go do this. Let's see what happens.'"

Although Garza wasn't entirely displeased with her physical transformation, she believes she walked away from the show in a far worse place mentally than when she arrived.

"When I signed up for this show, I didn't really lack confidence in my abilities or my intelligence or being a mom or a wife at the time. And the show, just whatever little self-esteem I had, it took it all away," she explained.

"I ended up getting evicted from my apartment. I ended up getting divorced. I started drinking a lot. I used drugs. I felt the void of any esteem," she shared. And while she was pleased with the results of her plastic surgery, it didn't come without its own set of challenges.

"I think a lot of times as women, when you struggle with self-esteem issues, you tend to over-sexualize yourself, because in that mindset, you cannot differentiate between positive attention and negative attention. So, I became consumed with just debauchery," Garza said.

She continued, "I think that goes to show that my mental health was devastated. And so, when people are like, 'Oh, you got all this free.' Nothing is free. Everything has a price. I paid with my pride, and I paid with my mental health. And I lived with that my whole life with this shame."

Garza said the fallout touched every one of her relationships. "I wasn't a good mom. I wasn't a good sister. I wasn't a good wife, and it was because I didn't like myself," she shared. Thankfully, she has since come out the other side.

Today, Garza, who is medically retired due to a heart condition, is in a good place. She's embracing a journey of self-love and told TV Insider that she sees a therapist regularly. "My life is very peaceful. I spend time with my grandkids," she shared.