Kris Jenner has been a wonderful friend and confidant. She was what Mel needed after going through her last divorce. When someone asked about their friendship, Melanie had this to say, “We’ve both been divorced a couple of times, we’ve had a few kids and we’ve had life-changing situations in common. I’ll be having a [bad] day, the lowest of the lows, and she’ll come over, sit on my bed and be right there with me.”
Close relationships between older women are rare. Theirs is a positive example of the benefits of that type of friendship.
Repairing a Plastic Surgeon’s Mess
The media was tough on her, but she stood her ground. Standing up for aging women on Larry King Live, she told him the story about how Revlon had moved her to the “age-defying” line when she was just 34 years old.
When she had to deal with the botched surgery, it turned out that the previous doctor had been injecting Botox into her face. The new surgeon worked with her to remove it. Apparently, the claims that Botox would stop the aging process were untrue.
Under the Knife Again
In 2017, she made the decision - Melanie would try plastic surgery again. The goal was to go through a reversal treatment provided by her new plastic surgeon that would dissolve the Botox.
It took years to reverse the Botox treatments. She told Porter, “Hopefully, I look more normal now.”
Giving Back to the Community
During her marriage with Banderas, Melanie took on a love for philanthropy. The two put their heart and soul into helping others. In one such effort, Melanie helped organize a 5K walk to raise money for the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.
In giving back to the community, the goal was to generate enough money to build a new state-of-the-art pediatric inpatient facility. She was also on hand for the hospital’s 2012 Noche de Niños gala, where she was presented the Courage to Care Award.
Putting Her Best Face Forward
Though they were in the midst of the divorce, Melanie appeared on Banderas’ arm at the red-carpet event celebrating the premiere of his 2014 film, 'Automata'. Their joint announcement depicting an amicable ending to their marriage came out that same year. And, while she appeared strong on the outside, inside she was falling apart.
Though she had not publicly discussed the reasons for the divorce, she did say she felt hollow as she reconciled her fourth divorce with her feelings. She admitted feeling down about future relationships and set goals to make it on her own.