A German model has spent 161,000 USD on two leg lengthening operations to be 5.5 inches taller.

Theresia Fischer, 31, from Hamburg, Germany, said she had adjustable rods inserted into her shin bones in a painful procedure 'to make her ex-husband happy'.

The blonde beauty, who co-starred on Germany's Celebrity Big Brother reality show, was a petite 5ft 6 inches when she was 24 years old.

But following the procedures, she now towers at 6.04ft tall after doing two excruciating surgeries that required breaking through her bones.

Footage shows long-legged Theresia stretching her limbs across the inflatable pool outside her house in April this year.

The model opened a bottle of champagne while splashing in the water before proudly showing off a document with her maiden name after divorce.

She said: ‘The shin bone is broken cleanly, the calf muscles are split, and a telescopic rod is used in each case.

‘You stretch your lower legs independently by holding your knee with one hand and screwing your foot inward with the other hand until it clicks.

‘Ten clicks a day on each side bring an additional 0.5 millimetres [0.02 inches]'.

Theresia said she felt pressured to undergo the operation in order to please her ex-husband, who told her he liked tall ladies.

Her total surgery cost was 124,000 USD (98,162 GBP) but medications and physical therapy bumped up her bill to 161,000 USD (127,452 GBP), which she paid with money she earned from modelling.

Theresia added she is happy as it boosted her self-confidence, although there are some who misunderstand her for going under the knife.

She said: ‘I now feel happy and satisfied with my legs, but I'm hit by a wave of hate on the Internet.

‘It hurts me a lot. With the leg-lengthening procedure, I found myself and finally overcame my old trauma from being bullied.'

Theresia added the extra height made sex better with ‘more room to manoeuvre in bed'.

She said: ‘My sex is better now! I have become very flexible with my legs and have more room to manoeuvre in bed.'

The limb lengthening procedure is a surgical treatment where a reconstructive surgeon breaks a femur or tibia (shin bone) through small incisions in the leg. Rods and pins will then be inserted into the bone to have controlled lengthening over a period of time.