‘RHONY’: Luann de Lesseps and Leah McSweeney Bond Over Their Arrests
Finding something in common with new friends can be tricky. But Luann de Lesseps and newbie Leah McSweeney from The Real Housewives from New York City found common ground immediately.
They ladies connected during the first episode over both being arrested. De Lesseps was famously arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, charged with disorderly intoxication, battery on an officer/firefighter/EMT, resisting arrest with violence and threatening a public servant, People reports. McSweeney was also arrested when she tried to stop a group of police officers from beating up a man she was kissing.
During the first episode of season 12, de Lesseps celebrated that her probation had finally ended. She shared the news at a cocktail party with her friends. She meets McSweeney and the two have a funny exchange.
A native New Yorker who ‘looks so normal’
When McSweeney shares she’s born and raised in New York, de Lesseps says “You’re a native New Yorker, and you look so normal.” They laugh as de Lesseps reiterates that McSweeney is from Chelsea and has a daughter.
As the women dish about their lives, de Lesseps shares, “I’ve been through hell the last couple of years with the divorce, I’ve been arrested.” McSweeney’s eyes widen. “Oh, that’s why you were on the probation,” she says.
But McSweeney says, “I’ve been arrested too.” De Lesseps says, “Have you? Well, you can relate then.” McSweeney agrees that she can. But then de Lesseps wonders why she was arrested. “Like obstruction of justice, like attacking a police officer,” McSweeney replies.
“Oh God, me too,” de Lesseps says. McSweeney says she ended up suing the cops because they knocked her teeth out.
Why was McSweeney arrested?
She shared in a confessional what happened. “It was the Fourth of July in 2002 I ran into a guy that I had a big crush on,” McSweeney recounts in a confessional. “Then we were making out in the street, literally I was in mid-kiss, like …”
“And then I like looked, and there’s like five cops beating him up,” she says. “I had a knee jerk reaction, I had a half-empty water bottle, threw it, it hit one of the cops in the back, and he punched me in the face, slammed my face into the subway grates three times. And they locked me up.”
She told de Lesseps, “My silver lining was I won $75,000 from the cops and I started my business with the money.” The women high-five. “Like I was like, ‘Leah, you’ve been making really bad choices,'” she continues in her confessional. “Here’s a little gift for you from the universe to be smart with it. This money that I won it’s like I need to use this for the brand. And that’s exactly what I did.” McSweeney owns and operates women’s streetwear, Married to the Mob.
“Over the past 14 years, Married to the Mob has seen it all, reaching distribution in over 100 retailers, and collaborating with over 30 brands. Moving forward to continually disrupt the male-dominated marketplace, MTTM has consistently emerged year after year with original collections, chosen special projects, and lookbook presentations with natural personality and unique NYC street perspective,” according to the company’s website.
The Real Housewives of New York City airs Thursday night at 9/8c on Bravo.
