Stormy Daniels sets the record straight on Trump, plastic surgery and misinformation: ‘There’s just so much that people didn't know’

Unapologetically is a Yahoo Life series in which people get the chance to share how they live their best life — out loud and in color, without fear or regret — looking back at the past with a smile and embracing the future with excited anticipation.

Stormy Daniels has become infamous for her alleged 2006 affair with Donald Trump, but now the mother of one is reclaiming her life in the most "Stormy Daniels" way possible: on reality TV.

"For all the hate I get online, at its height, the thousands of messages a day that were awful, which would add up to millions when we think about it, not one of those people has ever said anything to my face," Daniels, 43, tells Yahoo Life of the unfair treatment she experienced following the Trump sex scandal. "We all know that Twitter is my favorite sport and I'm quite good at it."

Daniels is starring on VH1's new reboot of The Surreal Life, following a group of celebrities as they try to get through two weeks of living together in a Hollywood mansion. For her, the series was an opportunity to show America the real person behind the salacious headlines.

"When the scandal broke and all these things happened, I was literally reduced to just 'porn star' or a 'prostitute,' which wasn't even accurate," she says, "and that I must have been doing this stuff and coming out [with my story] because I was broke or desperate or washed up."

"There's just so much that people didn't know," she explains of her career before the scandal, which includes standup comedy, writing and directing. She even appeared in two Seth Rogen films.

Though Daniels admits some of the online hate still gets to her, she's found ways to overcome it. "Anytime I get real sad, I just look at my members on OnlyFans or my websites or my bank accounts," she says. "Call me what you will, but you won't call me broke."

Indeed, Daniels knows a thing or two about perseverance. In recent months, she's used her platforms to speak on issues impacting women — especially when it comes to aging, sex, or both.

"It's really funny when people are like, 'You're old!' Thank you, captain obvious," she jokes. "With filters on TikTok and Instagram, we have sort of gone down this path of unattainable standards. I gotta tell you, I think it's coming back the other way [with] a lot of body positive [messages] and things like that in the last few years. I'm happy to see that."

Still, there are differences between what works personally and professionally when it comes to getting intimate.

"When you have sex on camera, it's about what looks good. But in private, it's about what feels good," she explains. "When I'm working, I'm worried about sucking in and covering my fat roll and pointing my toes, and does my hair look weird? At home, it's just like, 'Ah, turn off the lights, let's put down the towel honey. Let's do this.'"

Daniels makes clear that she supports any woman's right to have plastic surgery in order to feel good.

"I'm all for plastic surgery or maintenance. I'm also for it if you don't f***ing want to,"" she says. "At the end of the day, we're all gonna die alone, so do what you want."

She named her breast implants "Thunder" and "Lightening," sharing that "my boobs are older than some of the guys I've actually gone out with."

"I've had Thunder and Lightening since July of '99. The same ones. I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up one morning with one t**, like, it's just gonna go. But I've had no problems," she says.

Naturally, Daniels has some pretty sound advice for keeping spice alive in a relationship.

"Men are creatures of habit and that's where they make the mistake," she explains. "Men are very much, 'I wanna fix it, wanna figure s*** out,' and when they figure out what works: 'I got a plan, I know what to do.' Yeah, that was the plan yesterday, but today that doesn't work for me... Men forget that women cycle, so the amount of pressure or touch, or what feels good today [fluctuates]. Our bodies, as you know, change."

Without a doubt, Daniels knows she's great television. Beyond that, she says all she wants is to live an authentic life. And as someone who's been through the political and media firestorm, that's not a lot to ask.

"I am unapologetic for telling the truth and being brutally honest," she says.

— Video produced by Olivia Schneider and edited by Rasiel Guevara.

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