As others have said correctly, what she wants is the attention of a quality man, that she will fall for, others can't make her feel that way, The problem is she wants higher quality than she merits, hence the idea about surgery to try to fool people she is better quality.

Should have stuck with the guy in your early 20's my dear. He was the best you will get.

I cry myself to sleep

They all do. A single woman is a lonely, depressed woman.

A single, solitary man is not ideal. It's possible. A solitary woman is a basketcase. Men want women. Women need men.

"For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake." -1 Corinthians 11

I feel so alone I feel like a failure I crave it

Solipsistic thinking confirmed. It's not about what you would bring to a man's life, it's about YOU not feeling bad. It's not a man's job to make you happy or feel a certain way.

plastic surgery

Reminds me of Vespa and her Druish nose. "We're going to give your daughter back.... HER OLD NOSE!"

I really want to know what happened to end her fantastic two-year relationship in her early 20s. I suspect she got herself alpha-widowed, compounded by the fact that she was still in the honeymoon phase when Chad tossed her aside for a newer model. Another possibility is that she might have initiated a YOLO breakup and couldn’t stick the landing… or cheated on him and got dumped.

The obvious solution to her dilemma is to go back to the guy she had, but that inevitably begs the question of why she’s not with him now.

We can only speculate because she doesn’t say, but we should assume the reason she omitted something so important is because it would make her look bad.

It would be interesting to know how she acted at the age of 21? Did she only want attention from the top 20% of men? Did she have a thing for bad bois, thugs and criminals? Now, at 29, Boo Hoo WAATGM? I have seen, in my lifetime, 3 women throw their lives away chasing unicorns. Average men were not good enough for them. Now, in their 30's they are passed over by the men they rejected years earlier. These women, in their 30's, lost their advantages of youth and fertility.
When I was divorced and single at 38, my first GF was 27, the next 27 and the next who became my second wife was 24. She was 5'7", blonde hair and blue eyes.
I went to single events and saw women in their late 20's and 30's. Some of the women were better looking than me, but I did not want the baggage that came with them. I could see bail out in their eyes. Married 25 year and 3 sons.

"If I can be a 9 (versus a 7), my options will expand."

So typical. There's a reason Kevin Samuels would tell women "you can't say 7" when asking them to rate themselves. Few women would admit to being a 5 or a 6, because that's too mid, but they know if they inflate themselves to an 8, the obvious question becomes, "If you're that hot, why are you still single and struggling?" So they go with "I'm a 7" to prevent an ego meltdown.

Lady, the eligible men who instantly and surreptitiously evaluate you on a daily basis say you are not a 7. If she's a legit 5 at age 29, no amount of surgery is going to dry her tears as the epiphany phase sets in.

I've tried [...] being as fit as I can be

Gather 'round, children, and let old man Woody learn ya' something.

Those last four words are what are known in red pill circles as "telling on herself."

If she were actually fit she wouldn't have to include such a qualifier.

I can't think of anything to say that would be productive. Just bile and vitriol. So I'll just add that this is what you get when you break the long standing deal between men and women.

Quote Saint Kevin, buyeth a canine and live out thy lives in solitude.

Plastic surgery always looks worse. Always. The reason? Because it looks like mental illness. Why? Because it IS mental illness. Plastic surgery is the very embodiment of mental illness.

Women don't seem to think that mental illness is a deal breaker. They think men are ok with it.

We're not. Because attraction is all based on reproductive potential. No man wants his off spring to be crazy, so we avoid nutty chicks as much as possible (I said as much as possible, we're not miracle workers). So when we see women that have had plastic surgery, we avoid like the plague.

I feel I can be a 9 (versus a 7)

And actual 7 wouldn't be having the issues she's having. And no matter what she picks she is going to continue having issues so long as she keeps making a fundamental mistake many women make, and that is lying to even herself about her actual station and potential in life.

Note how the options she picked from do nothing about who she is as a person and are just surface level effects at best. She will still keep just being a fucktoy for men out of her relationship grasp because she did nothing about the underlying dysfunction in her choices and self.