NBC Star Shares Post-Op Photo After Undergoing Plastic Surgery

Wendi McLendon-Covey is on the mend after undergoing a neck lift.

The St. Denis Medical, 56, took to Instagram on Sunday to explain her absence from the Bridesmaids reunion at the 2026 Oscars, revealing there was “no drama” behind her decision not to join co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper and Maya Rudolph on stage.

“In response to some of the dms I’m getting: I had a neck lift last week because I’m tired of looking like a melting candle,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of her face wrapped in surgical bandages. “So I had to skip the Academy Awards. No drama. Everything is fine. [kissy face emoji].”

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McLendon-Covey’s explanation came after Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, 63, told Entertainment Tonight that he had been told simply that she was “not available.”

“She might even be traveling, I’m not sure. But we will miss her terribly, because I love Wendy,” he added to the outlet, adding that the NBC sitcom star is “working constantly.”

As the other Bridesmaids actresses took to the stage at Sunday’s Academy Awards to present the Best Score winner, Wiig, 52, joked, “I cannot believe that it’s been 15 years. Now we are not good with numbers, but we figured out backstage that means we shot this movie in 1883.”

The stars of the 2011 comedy then read fake letters they claimed were from their fellow Oscar attendees, with Rudolph, 53, saying, “Oh, this is strange. Well, mine says, ‘First of all, you ladies look extremely beautiful tonight.’ Thank you. ‘You’re aging well.’ Signed, Stellan Skarsgård.”

McCarthy, 55, also claimed to have gotten a letter from Skarsgård, joking, “I have to say, mine is almost impossible to read. The handwriting is really pretty terrible. Says, ‘Hi, I’m with Stellan Skarsgård, writing my own separate note. I also agree, you ladies look radiant. All the things you’ve done to your faces are very tasteful. Yours truly, Elle Fanning.’ Wait, wait, there’s more. It says, ‘Just kidding. It’s me again, Stellan Skarsgård.’”

Wiig then pulled out her fake note from Benicio Del Toro, reading, “You guys have been talking for a long time. This bit could have been a lot shorter. This is really going on and on. You aren’t even talking about score. That’s all. Love ya lots, Benicio Del Toro. Or for those of you who refuse to learn Spanish, it’s Benedict of the Bull.”