On Saturday, April 14, Carrie Underwood shared a photo of her face — without any obstruction — on Instagram. This is the first time that the country music singer has posted a picture showing her entire face in five months.
According to reports, Underwood fell on the stairs in front of her home back in November. She told her fans that she needed more than 40 stitches to close the lacerations to her face. Since that time, she has been reticent to show her full face in photos. She has not posted any selfies, nor has she been in the spotlight.
“There is also another part of the story that I haven’t been ready to talk about since I have still been living it and there has been much uncertainty as to how things will end up. It’s crazy how a freak random accident can change your life,” she wrote in a blog post, according to Entertainment Tonight. “In addition to breaking my wrist, I somehow managed to injure my face as well. I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but when I came out of surgery the night of my fall, the doctor told [Underwood’s husband] Mike that he had put between 40 and 50 stitches in,” she added.
“When I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different,” Underwood also wrote.
Over the past few weeks, Underwood has posted pictures of herself, but many have been taken from far away, have been blurry, or have only shown half of her face.
Underwood is preparing to perform at the Academy of Country Music Awards, which takes place on Sunday, April 15. This will mark her first, official, public appearance since her fall. Underwood’s latest selfie (see above) shows her backstage during rehearsals. Underwood will most likely perform her new single, “Cry Pretty,” which was released earlier this week. She is nominated for more than one award: female vocalist of the year and vocal event of the year — for “The Fighter,” a duet that she recorded with fellow country star Keith Urban.
Earlier this month, Underwood took to her website to share another update about her healing process.
“My wrist is almost back to normal, about 90 percent there…and the docs say that last 10 percent will come in time. And my face has been healing pretty nicely as well. I definitely feel more like myself than I have in a while,” she wrote, according to Cosmopolitan.
For the past few months, fans have become increasingly more curious about the status of Underwood’s face, many of whom wondered exactly how “different” she looked. After she posted the aforementioned selfie, most of the comments left by fans have been upbeat and positive. More than one fan remarked that he or she was unable to see any noticeable difference in Underwood’s appearance.