Marilyn Denis says she coped with her 'body falling apart' by having plastic surgery: 'I'm no dummy'
The 65-year-old 'queen of all Canadian media' gave a candid new interview about her career, motherhood and plastic surgery.
Marilyn Denis gave a candid account of her life as the "queen of all Canadian media" in a new interview with Melissa Grelo. The 65-year-old radio and TV host joined Grelo for an episode of the podcast "Aging Powerfully" to talk motherhood, divorce, plastic surgery and more.
🚧 Breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry
Denis's path to making a name for herself in Canadian media began modestly. "I started radio in 1976 just doing a newscast every Thursday at three o'clock because it fit in between my classes at the University of Idaho," she recalled.
Her first major opportunity came in 1977 when a friend invited her to do promotional work for his radio show. Denis would eventually move to Toronto where she took a job at CHUM.
"Somebody said to the program director at that time, 'Can you tell the girl to shut up?' That'd be the name of my new book if I ever come up with one," Denis quipped.
👩🍼 Balancing motherhood, career and marriage
In 1988, Denis became the new host of "Cityline" and welcomed her son Adam. Denis recalled her hectic schedule, working at CHUM from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., attending meetings, and then heading home to be with her son. Her demanding schedule, however, took a toll on her marriage.
"My marriage failed," she admitted. "Adam was two and a half years old when his dad and I decided to split. Something had to give."
😞 Coping with loss and burnout
Two months after Denis gave birth to her son, her sister died. "There was a lot of heartache in that time," she said.
To cope, she sought therapy and engaged in physical activities. "I got a lot of help. I went to a therapist. I knew I needed that.. I went to a gym and got a trainer. Mentally and physically — putting those two together helped a lot," she explained.
Denis said she made sure she stayed on a schedule with work and her son, but always made sure there was one day a week where she "planned nothing."
🧭 Navigating menopause and health challenges
Denis said she began noticing a change in her health when she turned 48. After discovering she had fibroids, Denis underwent a hysterectomy which put her into menopause. Shortly afterwards, she began hormone replacement therapy.
"It was a struggle,” she said. “But I remember thinking, this is a sign to do something about this. You’re going to go through this anyway, let’s go fund on and do it and try to maintain some kind of decorum about being kind to yourself. Because I’ll tell you, when you see your body falling apart, you’re not very nice to yourself.”
Denis said her weight fluctuated over time and said it was hard to adjust to the changes.
“I realized, ‘You took your body for granted for a long time,’” she said. “‘It was always there for you. Now it’s kind of going through change and you’ve got to go through that change with it.’”
🪞 Plastic surgery, fillers and criticism from viewers
The 65-year-old said she's no stranger to criticism from viewers.
"I took care of my body falling apart by having plastic surgery because I’m no dummy," she said.
Although she was private about menopause, she decided it would be best to be open about her experience with plastic surgery.
"I thought that'd be good because I'm getting in front of it," she explained. "But that's what people attacked me on."
Denis said that the negative feedback from viewers almost provoked a response.
"At first it was really mean," Denis shared. "I felt like saying, 'Do you know what else I'm going through?' No. They don't. They don't care. Nor should they know what else you're going through — I'm going through a divorce, I'm going through this, somebody just passed away.
Despite the criticism, Denis remained resilient, focusing on self-care and personal well-being. "I'm going to be kind to myself and do the best I can to make me feel better," she said. "If you like what you see, that's great. If you don't, that's fine."
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