7 Pics Of Riley Gaines' Thin Lips Before Filler

Shuttled to MAGA fame for espousing controversial talking points, former college swimmer Riley Gaines has undergone quite the transformation since hitting the spotlight. However, there's room to argue that much of her glow-up has come with some snags. Similar to how Gaines' cakey makeup gives Erika Kirk vibes, so too does her lip filler feel overdone and jarring when looking at throwback photos. Of course, Gaines isn't the only conservative star to hop on the Mar-a-Lago face trend, altering her looks to better fit in with a specific crowd, but her body modification feels a bit obvious.

Though Gaines has yet to confirm or deny whether she's had any plastic surgery, there's little room for her to wiggle away from the lip filler allegations. Photos from her college days certainly suggest that Gaines used to boast some rather thin lips, with some snaps even pointing towards inconsistent upkeep. Similar to how Gaines' relationship with Donald Trump seems to be all over the place, so too does her filler journey feel scattered. Gaines seems to have lips that swell and shrink between videos for her podcast and press events, making older photos of her more consistent face feel all the more shocking.

Seen beaming in an Instagram snap from 2020, Riley Gaines' smile from that era appears to be half the size of her later look, as evidenced by the side-by-side comparison with a video screengrab from February 2026. In the photo on the left, Gaines' top and bottom lip both appear to be about the same size, as opposed to the photo on the right, where her bottom lip is much fuller, and her top lip hints at filler or a potential lip flip.

In what amounted to one of many reasons why Riley Gaines shouldn't have her makeup photographed up close, her onstage stunt at CPAC 2022 was full of plenty of mistakes. Not only was her makeup poorly blended and overly matte, but it also erased any semblance of her mouth, making it hard to parse out where her lips were. In a side-by-side photo of Gaines from a speaking engagement in 2025, it's fairly obvious that she's most likely using filler to get a fuller, more noticeable smile.

Though she's now on the worst-dressed list for conservative stars, Riley Gaines used to have a semblance of cool girl style, as evidenced by this Instagram photo from 2022. In the post, she boasts a cute cropped top and dark denim, paired with her bleached and flowing locks. There's a relatability to Gaines in this photo that seems to have disappeared, and it's hard not to point out that the chill vibes she's sporting here might be linked to how natural her lips look. Without filler, she looks beachy and fun, instead of trying to impress new friends and followers.

With the ubiquity of social media, it comes as no surprise that Riley Gaines and bestie Annie Wilby have been documenting their friendship over the years. Spotted in the Instagram snap on the left from 2023, it seems that Wilby was the one with fuller lips, especially when compared to how thin Gaines' top lip was. However, by 2024, it seems that the tide had turned, with Gaines rocking a much fuller smile, making Wilby's top lip shrink in comparison.

According to her post on Instagram, Riley Gaines started 2023 all smiles alongside friend Sophie Sorenson. However, her smile was much thinner that year than the one she went into 2026 with. As can be seen in the above side-by-side photo, 2023 Gaines on the left looks a bit different than 2026 Gaines on the right. Per a celebratory Instagram post, Gaines can be seen in her Republican-inspired makeup, with fuller lips and a much glitzier wardrobe. Her whole transformation still makes it shocking to see Gaines with her throwback thin lips.

In 2023, Riley Gaines posted a long-winded diatribe to Instagram espousing the beliefs that made her popular with the MAGA crowd. However, in the above photo, Gaines' naturally thin lips feel at home with her makeup-free look, serving as a reminder of just how far her sense of style has come since she's infiltrated the conservative upper crust. While she might be basking in her 15 minutes, it seems that Gaines is now one of several Republican women with zero fashion flair. It would be rare to find her in such a laid-back outfit with no makeup or filler these days.

Though Riley Gaines has consistently relied on her killer legs to save some awful outfits, it seems that she's been less consistent with just how much work she wants done to her lips. In the photo on the left from a 2024 celebrity softball game, Gaines can be seen smiling with reasonably full lips. Though they're plumper than in years past, it does appear that Gaines might not be slowing down, as evidenced by the photo on the right from a June 2025 Instagram post. It might be time for her to tone down the filler and find her natural smile once again.