Leah McSweeney has reached a huge milestone in her life. The Real Housewives of New York City star took to Instagram to reveal that she is now been sober for a year.
“365 days booze free,” she captioned an image on Instagram, which featured a reference to the Alcoholics Anonymous program’s “Twelve Steps,” according to Page Six.
“365 days booze free. Thank you G-d. People often ask me if I stopped drinking because I saw myself drunk on TV,” she began. “I stopped drinking a couple days before the show even aired. I’m also often asked if I drank because I knew I was going to be on the show since I had not drank for almost a decade before. And the truth is I started drinking before I knew I was going to be on RHONY,” she continued. “When I found out that I was in fact going to be on the show I thought to myself that it may be a good time to stop drinking again but it was much too hard to stop and I wasn’t ready after all I just started again and I wanted to “enjoy” myself.”
“I always knew there was a stigma around alcoholism and addiction but I didn’t realize just how terrible the stigma was, especially for women, until the show aired,” she wrote. “I would love to make an a reverent funny joke about how I’m happy my year back drinking was spent drinking with the best of them but the truth is people are struggling right now more than ever with addiction.”
She added, “This year of dealing with a pandemic and isolation makes getting and staying sober even more complicated including finding help for it. Depression and loneliness has people turning to substances more than ever. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol or drugs right now please call 1-800-662-4357.”
In June 2020, McSweeney revealed that she stopped drinking after she finished filming Season 12 of the Bravo hit reality series. “Once COVID hit, I knew quarantining and the way I drink would not work well together … to say the least. Not drinking during the pandemic has been a complete gift to me, and the nine years of living booze-free has made the transition much easier to deal with,” she said in a statement to Us Weekly at that time.
“I am so incredibly touched by the outpouring of love and support on social media. I want to remove the stigma and shame surrounding addiction and mental health issues as this is something I’ve been open about and will always continue to be.”
Photo Credit: Bravo Media/NBCUniversal
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