Leah McSweeney seemed like the anti-housewife when she was cast on The Real Housewives of New York for Season 12. She irked the established Housewives, like Ramona Singer, to the amusement of fans. The Married To The Mob founder was the downtown to the rest of the Upper West Side crew.
If there was one cast member who could out-party Luann de Lesseps, it was Leah. Her behavior after a night out was so unfiltered, it was notable to viewers. Though they seemed to really enjoy watching Leah’s meltdowns, when discussions of her sobriety journey came up, it was apparent that there was more at play than surface level amusement.
Now, Leah has reflected on what was actually a “horrible” time for her.
Leah was surprised by viewer reactions
Leah mave have left the series, but she does still reflect on her time as a reality TV star. Most recently, in an interview with Impact x Nightline. The interview, in which Leah reflects on how RHONY impacted her sobriety, is available to stream on Hulu.
In the Season 12 episode, “Hurricane Leah,” the cast goes to Newport, Rhode Island, for a weekend getaway. After indulging in some shots, Leah seemingly lost control of her emotions. She acted out in a way that went down in RHONY history. But what fans didn’t realize is that it was the moment of Leah’s relapse.
“It was horrible,” she said.
“The next day when I’m done filming and I’m crying hysterically in my apartment, my stomach hurts so bad. I don’t know what I did. I don’t remember what I did,” Leah revealed. She then added: “I don’t know what I said.”
But while fans seemed entertained by it all, Leah was mortified. She admitted, “Oh, I was totally blackout drunk.”
When the footage aired, the RHONY alum had a hard time with the fallout. “And I was so nervous to see myself. And what are people going to say? They’re going to say, ‘You’re a drunken disaster. You’re a horrible mother. You were disgusting.’ Instead, they loved it, which really messed with my brain cause I was like, ‘This isn’t funny.'”
Leah’s history with alcohol was an integral part of her storyline. So it was not without irony that being cast on RHONY was the catalyst that took back the gains Leah made after nearly a decade.
“The same week I got the call to audition is the same week that I relapsed after nine years,” Leah revealed.
Meanwhile, RHONY was rebooted with an entirely new cast.
TELL US – WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO LEAH’S STORY? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF LEAH WATCHING “HURRICANE LEAH?”
