Luann de Lesseps’ sobriety is an ongoing battle, but the “Real Housewives of New York” star says things are going uphill.
“I’m doing really well and I’m enjoying the launch of this song tonight and I’m looking forward to this whole court thing being behind me,” de Lesseps told Page Six at the launch party for her new single, “Feeling Jovani” on Thursday night. “Because I’ve got so many great things going on, so that’s my focus is getting that behind me and taking, you know, one day at a time. That’s all I can do.”
De Lesseps, 54, had her issues with alcohol thrown into the spotlight when she was arrested in Palm Beach, Fla. on Christmas Eve 2017 following a drunken night when she allegedly attacked and threatened to kill a police officer. She agreed to a plea deal in the case to avoid jail time in August after attending rehab instead of the “RHONY” Season 10 reunion.
She returned to rehab shortly after her children filed a lawsuit against her to stop her from selling the family’s Sag Harbor, NY home. They eventually dropped their suit.
Then, she was accused of not taking her probation seriously in May after she admitted to drinking two mimosas following a performance of her cabaret show in Chicago. She was taken into custody for a probation violation shortly after, with the court modifying her probation terms to include weekly phone counseling sessions with her therapist and monthly in-person sessions. She is also required to take an Antabuse medication as prescribed by her doctor and have a “Soberlink” breathalyzer monitoring device.
Fans saw de Lesseps fight with her “RHONY” costars over her struggle to stay sober on the most recent episode of the show during the cast’s trip to Miami, Fla. She previously told us that she was planning on sticking to mocktails on the trip, but that didn’t stop co-star Bethenny Frankel from attacking de Lesseps for not being grateful for her help.
“Do you understand that I did your intervention and my ex-fiancé died of an overdose?” Frankel, 48, yelled at her. “And you haven’t checked in on me. Do you understand? I did your intervention while my guy died of a drug overdose. You haven’t asked how I am. Hi. He died. He’s in the ground.”
“I had lawyers come to your house on a Sunday,” she yelled. “I spoke to your kids. I sat outside in your driveway to make sure that you didn’t drive your car. You almost crashed the car and killed your friends. You were running in a field in a negligee and had to be taken in cop cars, and I made sure that they didn’t record it so you didn’t ultimately get arrested.”
“You left the f–ing rehab I got you for free two weeks early!” she screamed. “It was cabaret! You’re a sicko! For cabaret, you left rehab? I got it for free. You’re sick.”
De Lesseps told us about the explosive argument, “I was really hurt because I don’t feel like the girls really understood how difficult it was for me to stay sober that trip. It was really tough for me because there was a lot of drinking going on and, yeah, I was totally — what’s the word I’m looking for? Self-absorbed — because I needed to be at that point in my life to protect myself. It was really rough. They were really rough on me. They were very hard on me and I don’t think that the crime fit the punishment.”