‘RHONY’: Is Luann de Lesseps Drinking Again?
Fans expressed concern when Luann de Lesseps from The Real Housewives of New York City shared that she is able to have a cocktail again.
She recently told People that her probation ended from her December 2017 arrest. Part of her probation was that de Lesseps had to abstain from drinking alcohol and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. She accepted a plea deal of probation in lieu of spending a year in jail but had some problems along the way.
Although she initially sought treatment immediately following her arrest, she returned to rehab when RHONY shot the season 10 reunion. She was also busted for violating probation this spring when she consumed two mimosas. At the time she admitted that remaining sober was a struggle but she took her sobriety very seriously.
Fans express concern
Now that probation is behind her, de Lesseps made the decision to drink alcohol responsibly. “New Year’s has been a time of reflection,” she told People. “I’ve learned a great deal about myself, and I’m in a very good place and finally back in the drivers seat. I’ve always said my journey is day by day. I’m toasting to a happy new year ahead!”
Although de Lesseps seems confident she can move forward responsibly, fans are concerned. “I have concerns. Major ones. But I wish her the best going forward,” one fan tweeted in a thread about the People story. Another person remarked, “Ummm there is no responsible drinking when you have a problem.”
But many fans wished de Lesseps well, expressing that she’s paid the price for the arrest. “I wish her well and hope can handle this,” one person commented. “I mean, I don’t think she ever really had a severe drinking problem,” another person observed. “She made bad choices because she was lashing out. I never expected it to be permanent.”
She’s ready to move on
“So happy to put 2019 behind me! 2020 vision all the way,” de Lesseps tweeted. “#happynewyear @ Happy New Year 2020 Wishes.” When she attended BravoCon de Lesseps shared that she was looking forward to the end of probation. “It feels great. It is behind me and I can move on in my life and be a badass with all the Housewives of New York again,” People reports.
But she revealed that not being able to drink provided a pathway for some serious reflection. “I look at it right now as kind of a blessing, believe it or not, because it really made me step back and take a look at my drinking, etc,” de Lesseps told Andy Cohen on WWHL in July, People recounts. “I feel fortunate.”
In August de Lesseps told Jenny McCarthy on SiriusXM’s “The Jenny McCarthy Show” how she stayed sober. “I’ll have a mocktail,” she said. “You know what I’ve gotten into is Heineken Zero so I feel like I’m having a beer. I like beer in the summer because it’s cold and thirst-quenching. So I’ll have a Heineken Zero so I feel like I’m drinking and I’ll vape too! I’ll take a puff on a vape and get through the moment.”
