Curvy Brazilian model has butt implants removed so she can take part in Miss Bum Bum contest where bottom modification is banned
Gilliane Bonheur, 23, had been barred from entering the infamous pageant
A BRAZILIAN model filmed herself having her butt implants removed - so she could take part in the country's 'sexiest bottom' contest.
Gilliane Bonheur, 23, had been barred from entering the infamous Miss Bum Bum pageant, which is only open to women whose backsides are entirely natural.
Winners of the annual competition, now in its seventh year, go on to become national celebrities with huge fan followings, and earn millions in modelling contracts and endorsements.
While contestants are allowed to have plastic surgery anywhere else on their body, applicants must prove that their bottoms haven't been tampered with.
So Gilliane decided to go under the knife to remove the silicone implants she'd put in five years earlier - and filmed the entire procedure so there would be no doubt her bottom wasn't fake.
Our exclusive footage shows Gilliane, from Rio de Janeiro, under general anaesthetic while surgeon Eric Fredrik uses a knife to slice into her bottom, before eventually sliding out the bags of silicone gel.
Gilliane, who is half French and half Italian, said she had the implants in 2012 after she began modelling, because she wanted a more curvaceous behind.
She said: "My body is very European. I wanted to look more like the typically Brazilian women with big hips aswell as a big bottom. So I put 250ml of silicone in each cheek to make them stand out more."
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The catalogue model, who was discovered by a scouting agent on Copacabana beach aged 17, moved to France in her teens and has worked all over the world, including China and Saudi Arabia.
But in July 2016 her 16-year-old cousin Louis was among the 86 people who died in a terrorist attack in Nice, when a 19-tonne cargo truck deliberately drove into crowds celebrating Bastille Day.
Following the tragedy, frightened Gilliane, whose father works for the Brazilian navy, decided she wanted to return home to Brazil.
Speaking to Sun Online, she said: "I didn't feel safe in France anymore. I came home and decided to try to make a name for myself here. Last year I took part in my first beauty pageant, the Muse of Brazil contest.
"But I knew that if I wanted to become really famous I needed to enter Miss BumBum, which is the biggest competition of them all in Brazil.
"But I was gutted after my application was rejected because of my butt implants.
"I was desperate to take part, and I knew that even without implants my bottom would still be one of the best, so I offered to take them out if they let me compete."
On Saturday, Gilliane, who had paid £3,000 on her butt lift, underwent an hour-long procedure at the One Day clinic in Rio de Janeiro to remove the silicone bags from her buttocks.
She said: "I knew there would be people trying to discredit me by saying my bottom is false, so I decided to film the surgery so no-one could accuse me of cheating. I wanted everyone to know that I'd removed them.
"While I was unconscious I also took the opportunity to have some work done on my left ear and my nose, and I had the 300ml conical implants in my breasts taken out and replaced with 380ml round implants."
Gilliane, who is representing the federal district of Brasilia, said: "It doesn't matter how much it costs, I'll do whatever it takes to win Miss Bum Bum and be known all over Brazil and the world. I've met some of the other contestants and I think I've got a real chance of winning."
Miss Bum Bum's founder Cacau Oliver told Sun Online that contestants must provide X-ray evidence that their bottoms are 100 per cent natural.
He said: "Miss Bum Bum has always had this very clear rule, that the bottom has to be natural, without any surgical interventions, without implants. If the contestant cannot prove that they are automatically disqualified.
"Gilliane came to us but her entry was rejected when she admitted she had implants. She approached us again and signed a term committing herself to removing the implants in order to enter the competition, and before taking part in her first photo session."
Miss Bum Bum 2017 will for the first time have a non-Brazilian contestant, American Jenny Summers, 29, a former Playboy bunny who has featured on the magazine's cover in the US, Mexico and the Philippines.
This year's competition also features a polygamous contestant, Rangel Carlos, 23, who is in a relationship with a man and a woman, with whom she raises a son.
Contestants representing each of Brazil's 26 states, and federal district, are whittled down by a public vote to a last 15, who compete in a live final in November.