"The Swan" premiered in 2004 and stirred major controversy.
Twenty years after the premiere of "The Swan," a controversial reality show that swept the nation, some of the contestants reunited and told Inside Edition they are glad they participated.
Women on the show went under the knife to go through transformations from what the show called "ugly ducklings" to "beautiful swans."
Kathy Weber says she appeared on the show because she had low self-esteem and wanted a nose job. She spoke with Inside Edition about seeing herself in the mirror for the first time after her transformation.
"It was like, 'Wow my outsides match how I feel on the inside, and I feel like a beautiful feminine woman,' which I never saw that before," Weber says.
Kelly Berdyck says she was bullied in middle school because of her appearance.
"All I could say was, 'Oh my gosh,'" Berdyck tells Inside Edition. "I got up really close to the mirror, and I'm touching my nose."
Tawnya Perotta was 40 years old when she was on the show and felt like she looked much older. However, she refused to undergo some of the procedures that "The Swan" team of plastic surgeons recommended.
"I said no to a mini facelift. I said no to a nose job to having my tatas fixed. I said no to that," Perotta says.
Perotta agreed to have her nose refined. She also had a brow lift, liposuction and a tummy tuck.
After the transformations, the women went head to head against each other in a beauty pageant as part of the show.
"I felt very frustrated about it because we have already made friends, and we have been relying on each other and all of a sudden, they are going to pit us against each other. Not by our choices," Cindy Ingle says.
During their three-month makeovers, the women were not allowed to look in a mirror until the final reveal.
The show stirred controversy, particularly over the "ugly duckling" phrase.
"I think society was in a different place and wasn't ready for that," Merline Norman says.
