He may not have the best track record, but Spencer Pratt has stood by wife Heidi Montag in her decision to undergo 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day. But for the record: He wasn't in favor of her total transformation.

For the past three years, while Montag has obsessed about her imperfections and eagerly planned her November surgery, Pratt was there to voice his very different opinion on things.

"Anytime I hinted that it might be a little much or if I just asked if she was sure, I even felt like I was crossing lines," he told PEOPLE. "I'm not in charge of what she does with any part of her body. I'm her husband – not her owner."

To Pratt, his wife of a year was perfect to begin with. "But everyone sees themselves differently when they look in the mirror," he says. "Nobody truly understands how she feels except her. I may not be okay with things, but it's not my call."

Throughout the lengthy procedure and seven-week-plus recovery, Pratt, 26, played nurse – monitoring Montag, 23, and her health day and night. But the hardest part of all was seeing his wife post-surgery.

"Right after … it was the worst experience of my life," Pratt said. "Nobody that loves a loved one should see that."

And despite his difference of opinion on her having the surgery, Montag appreciates his honesty. "At the end of the day we do share a same opinion: It's my body and I need to feel comfortable as a woman, as a person, and my inner beauty is always there and that's what's most important," she says.

"His support has really been a lot and made such a difference. I couldn't ask for more."

Credit: People