Matt Gaetz Is Unrecognizable In Baby-Faced Mugshot From 2008

Former Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz has been involved in a number of scandals over the years, including his Halloween 2008 arrest for driving under the influence. And when you look at his mugshot from back then, he looks a lot different. Of course, everyone's looks change to some extent with time; however, when it comes to Gaetz, the comparison of his 2008 mugshot when he was 26 to his look now just adds fuel to the rumors that Gaetz has had plastic surgery.

This👇 is @RepMattGaetz mug shot from 2008. #FireproofMueller pic.twitter.com/o9sUz6bkhg

— Globalflyguy (@NYflightguy) November 3, 2017

Gaetz's face in his mugshot is completely smooth, and he has rounded cheeks. His eyebrows are heavy, but they seem naturally placed on his face. However, when you look at his face at events like the Republican National Convention in 2024, you'll notice a marked change that doesn't seem like natural aging. At the RNC, he had particularly arched eyebrows, a tight, shiny look to his skin, and what could be cheek filler, though it might just be contour and bronzer for his appearance on stage. Others have theorized that Gaetz has also had a chin implant and rhinoplasty. Whatever he's had done (or not), his current look is a far cry from his mugshot photo, and it's not the glow-up that he might think it is.

Dermatologist Corey L. Hartman, M.D., told Esquire that even though he hasn't personally seen Matt Gaetz as a patient, there were some telltale signs of plastic surgery based on his 2024 RNC appearance. His theory was that Gaetz had received Botox, or something like it, but that it had gone poorly. "It's too heavy in the forehead and not lateral enough to prevent Spock Eye," Dr. Hartman said. "Spock Eye" is a known side effect of Botox; named for the Star Trek character, it causes the brows to lift unnaturally.

Some online critics joked that Gaetz seems to be one of the people in Donald Trump's orbit who fell victim to "Mar-a-Lago face" via X (formerly known as Twitter). Other "victims" include Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Others have noted signs of Botox effects on Gaetz's face during appearances on his talk show on One America News Network, Gaetz's post-U.S. House of Representatives job. One person quipped, "Scientists have determined that tightening the face does nothing to increase brain power." We may never know for certain what work Gaetz has or hasn't had done, but his looks have drastically changed over the years.