Michael Strahan was an all-star pro-football player, journalist, television personality, and morning show host. And for decades he's done all of this with a gap in his teeth that he's had since birth.
Now, after all these years, Strahan has decided to let go of the gap in his teeth and get it closed.
First reported by TMZ.com, Strahan says if he would have discussed closing the gap with anyone in his life -- from friends to business associates and people online -- they would have tried to talk him out of it.
"I got to do what I want to do for myself," Strahan said in a video he posted to Twitter about the procedure.
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In the video, Strahan says that if he told other people that he was considering the procedure, he would be discouraged from getting it done. But he eventually returns to get his new look.
"This is the moment... 50 years in the making," he said right before the procedure.
Strahan, 49, couldn't help but laugh after he saw his new smile for the first time as he looked in the mirror and declared, "I love it! Holy f**k!"
I did it. #GoodbyeGap pic.twitter.com/0Z5ZcK925c
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) March 30, 2021
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As news of this is making it around the social media world, some are declaring this could be a trick he's playing on the masses since April 1--April Fools Day--is right around the corner. So, we'll see if Strahan sticks with the new look and keep you posted.
Obviously, Strahan's gap was iconic and he's talked about it for years. He mentioned that his parents were initially the ones who told him to embrace the look.
The gap is Michael's teeth is called, diastema (plural diastemata). Diastema is a space or gap between two teeth. Many species of mammals have diastemata as a normal feature, most commonly between the incisors and molars. Diastemata are common for children and can exist in adult teeth as well. Diastemata are primarily caused by imbalance in the relationship between the jaw and the size of the teeth.
He explained that he realized that his smile, however "flawed" it was by Hollywood standards, was as much a part of his identity as his Hall of Fame pro football career and fun-loving TV personality.
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"I was really close to closing it up," Strahan explained in 2018. "I was at the dentist having him do mock-ups. I thought about it," the retired NFL great tells ELLE mag, recalling how much pressure there was to be perfect as a young 20-something athlete for the New York Giants. "You can fix everything now."
Strahan decided at that time, however, that he didn't need to be "fixed."
"I made the conscious effort to say, 'This is who I am,'" he explains of why he didn't and won't close up his teeth. It was actually something his mom and dad instilled in him was to be himself at all times. "I'm not perfect. I don't want to try to be perfect."...
He also said that he needed to be himself and if people are going to like him, let them like the real him. Turns out, he was right.
"At this point, I don't think my kids would recognize me without it," he jokes. (Strahan has four children from previous relationships: Tanita, 20, and Michael Jr., 17, with first wife Wanda Hutchins; and twins Sophia and Isabella, 8, with second wife Jean Muggli.) "They'd be like, 'Who is this stranger in the house? Call 911!'"
He pretty much put it this way: "I made the conscious effort to say, 'This is who I am.'
