Riley Gaines' Face Has Totally Transformed Since Going Full MAGA

Riley Gaines has transformed from a failed student athlete to an outspoken critic of trans inclusion in sports, becoming a C-tier MAGA celebrity along the way. That progression can be seen in both her career and appearance. While hers isn't as dramatic a transformation as many women in MAGA circles, the former NCAA swimmer turned Fox News stalwart checks all the boxes of the so-called "Mar-a-Lago face" trend that has taken Trumpland by storm. Think over-plumped lips, lifted cheeks, and unnaturally taut skin, often from fillers or Botox. Side-by-side photos of Gaines make her Mar-a-Lago transformation all the more obvious.

At first glance, it seems like nothing much has changed for the person who once tied for fifth place and built a career out of it, other than a slightly paler skin tone and some possible weight loss. Upon closer inspection, however, her lips, specifically her upper lip, appear much fuller, suggesting a lip flip or lip fillers. Her face and neck also appear smooth and tight in the "after" image, consistent with Botox injections. Although, for the most part, she looks more or less the same.

Noam Galai & Jason Davis/Getty

While Riley (who isn't related to HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines, by the way) hasn't admitted to going under the knife, photos from her past suggest she's probably had a bit of help along the way. A 2016 article discussing her failed bid to compete in the Olympics featured an old photo of Riley as a junior at Station Camp High School in Tennessee. With frizzy blonde hair that fell around her shoulders, the then-16-year-old swimmer looked a lot different than the one we see at campaign rallies and podcast interviews today. Though aging may explain the changes, cosmetic enhancements have likely played a role, as well.

Riley Gaines started her anti-trans activism after tying for fifth place with transgender athlete Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA 200-yard freestyle race, turning lemons into lemonade by making a career out of utter failure. Over the years, she's become an outspoken transphobe, appearing on conservative media platforms and testifying in hearings about laws that affect the transgender community. She inevitably became a part of the MAGA movement, endorsing President Donald Trump and other Republican officials who share and support her views.

"I'm speaking for every female athlete, not just myself. I'm done competing," Gaines asserted during an interview on Fox Nation, though it was hard to tell that she was ever much of a competitor based on her limp career. She doesn't seem to be competing with others in the MAGA movement, either, considering how much she has conformed to the Mar-a-Lago beauty trend, to the extent that it's almost hard to pick her out from the homogenous blonde crowd.

All while ~5 months pregnant, mind you. She's Superwoman. pic.twitter.com/G3rA2VtK1h

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) January 16, 2026

In 2026, after joining a White House press briefing on banning transgender athletes from sports, the "Gaines for Girls" podcast host snapped a pic with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, with whom she shared a lot of physical similarities — and not just because they're both blondes. Everyone noticed that the pair had a nearly identical MAGA vibe. "I see you both have the same Mar-a-lago plastic surgeon," one person quipped on X. "All that cosmetic work just to still look like s***," another person added.