'I bought a new butt and boobs'

Most women would give anything for a smaller bum - but not Mutya Buena.

The former Sugababe has just forked out a cool £7,000 on bum implants to make her derrière curvier.

Now Mutya, 24, is the proud owner of the sort of bottom that would give J.Lo a run for her money. And she couldn't be more delighted.

"I totally understand it's not a common thing to do. Most women want a smaller butt," she grins.

"But I like a woman to look like a woman. I think my clothes look better with something to fill them, and I think I look better - and I feel so much sexier."

It's not the only surgery Mutya has had in the last six months, either - she's also had a breast enlargement, taking her up a size from a 34D to a 34E.

"I think I had a bit of a mad moment this year," she laughs. "But it's been worth it. I'm really happy with the way I look now. I love being curvy."

It's quite a transformation for the girl who always seemed the least image-conscious of the Sugababes. While she says she's never been "obsessed" with her body, like many women she felt becoming a mother had taken its toll on her figure.

''I've always had one of those figures where the weight goes off and on, off and on," she says. "I've even been very skinny in the past - when I was a young teen I was so skinny you could see my ribs. I was so thin - about 8st and a size 8."

Mutya, from north London, formed the Sugababes in 1999 along with school friends Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy. "There was a lot of sitting around in recording studios. It was takeaways, singing and sleeping," she recalls.

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Despite the band's runaway success, the rumours of constant rows weren't helped by the departure of Siobhan in 2001. She was replaced by Heidi Range, but the whispers about disharmony in the group continued. Then, in December 2005 - nine months after giving birth to her daughter Tahlia, now four, with then boyfriend Jay Barrymore - Mutya too left the band.

With a new baby and a solo career to focus on, she found herself with little time to get in shape.

It wasn't until January this year, shortly after her spell on Celebrity Big Brother, that she was shocked into taking action after seeing pictures of herself looking a little on the heavy side as she left a London nightclub.

So she hired a personal trainer who devised a programme of running, weights and Power Plate exercises.

In just a few weeks she was down to 9st. But there was a problem. "The weight was coming off the wrong areas - like my breasts and my bum," she says.

Then a friend jokingly mentioned that bum implants might be the solution, and Mutya began to look into it.

"I found a website and discovered that it's pretty common in other parts of the world, especially Brazil - that's why the women look so great in their bikinis," she explains.

Despite family and friends telling her she was mad, she went ahead with the three-hour operation in April this year at a private hospital.

JAN '09 Mutya took action after seeing photos of herself post-Big Brother

Like breast implants, bottom implants come in different sizes. They're inserted into a pocket in the buttocks to give a firmer, rounder shape.

"I'd discussed with the surgeon what I wanted. When I came round it was painful, but I could see that it was a success, even though my bottom was swollen and covered in bandages!"

Do they feel a bit alien and uncomfortable? Mutya insists not. "You know what? I forgot they were there after about two weeks. They just become a part of you."

After a few days recovering on her mum's sofa, she was almost back to normal. And so impressed was she with the results that within weeks she'd booked herself in for more surgery. This time on her breasts.

"They were a bit saggy and I wanted them to be fuller and lifted," she explains. "The surgeon suggested implants rather than a lift as otherwise they might droop again if I have more children".

Now a firm 34E, she's also a size 10 on her bottom half - even with those bum implants - although her new boobs mean she sometimes has to buy a size 14 top.

"I don't have a problem with that though," she says. "When I see all these skinny girls I feel like taking them home and giving them some food. In my family there's no one skinny really and that's what I'm used to."

Mutya adds that she no longer sticks to a strict diet and exercise regime, and insists she won't be having any more surgery. Well, for now, anyway.

"Whatever happens in the future I would never do anything to my face, though. I think its best to leave your face alone," she confesses.

"But there's nothing wrong with surgery - as long as you're doing it because it makes you happy, not because of a boyfriend or someone else."

NOV '05 Mutya with former band mates Heidi (left) and Keisha

Not that you can imagine any boyfriend telling Mutya what to do. For now, she's happily single after she and her long-term partner Jay, a 31-year-old mechanic, split last year. She's tight-lipped about why. When pressed she will only say: "We're both parents to Tahlia obviously, and everything's good. Right now I'm just trying to 'do me' - sort myself out and do the things I want to do."

And that doesn't just include getting herself a hot new bod. Mutya's solo career is also on the up. After the success of her debut album Real Girl in 2007, Mutya is currently recording a second album, which is due out next summer.

Little wonder then that the chilled-out Mutya of today appears a far cry from the "stroppy" Sugababe she once was.

"I think a lot of people thought that because I'm so opinionated," she says. "But if they knew me they'd know I wasn't a bitch.

"I was 15 when I first became famous, now I'm nearly 25, but even today people still think of me as a stroppy teenager!"

From now on Mutya is determined it will be her voice and talent that will make her stand out from the crowd. And those enhanced curves, of course...

Fallin by Agent X, featuring Mutya and Ultra, is out on September 20.

PHOTOGRAPHY: LANCTON, MATRIX, LFI STYLING: ANGIESMITH.CO.UK HAIR: ALICE THEOBALD AT JOY GOODMAN MAKE-UP: AFTON AT S MANAGEMENT MUTYA WEARS: SWIMSUIT, AGENT PROVOCATEUR; SHOES, OFFICE MUTYA HAD HER BREAST SURGERY THROUGH TRANSFORM. CALL 0500 595959 OR VISIT TRANSFORMINGLIVES.CO.UK

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