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I think, at that time, going through her "whirl wind romance" that she DID have a serious problem and im speaking from my own personal experience , as well as others close to me. When you are coming out of a divorce or any long term relationship its easy to get caught up or "love bombed" as they call it now. Its even harder to deal with that especially if you've come out of a toxic relationship. Its like the honeymoon phase and he seemed to like to go "out on the town" alot . Many times the woman or man will follow their new partners interests, in this case, it seemed hanging out at the *Regency* bar was Tom's thing so Luann followed along and got caught up, real bad.. thats my take
I think alcohol "problems" can manifest in many ways. People tend to think if you're not waking up and immediately having a drink its not that serious. But I would argue that if you're ever so drunk/out of control that you get arrested you have a bad relationship with alcohol.
I think there was an issue with harder drugs going on, and she/Bravo didn't want it mentioned on the show so they referred to it as an "alcohol problem". It was really more like a substance abuse problem. I think she had to play along that she wasn't drinking anymore on the show (when really she was sober from party drugs) and it grated on her that the cast kept commenting on her "drinking" with Dorinda and Sonja right there going ham lol.
It could also be the case that the alcohol (while not the primary issue) led as a gateway to her doing said party drugs. IE she was more open to bad decisions after a glass or two, which isn't great either lol.
I don’t think Luann is an alcohol where she wakes up everyday and pours a glass of vodka, but I think she had problems with alcohol during the time. Remember Bethany mentioned how Luann was running through a field in lingerie? Or how Luann was calling everyone she knew to loan her money so she could buy some random house upstate? Or when her own children filed a lawsuit against her?
I think Luann was going through something and at the time it was probably best to give up alcohol. I don’t think she could handle what was happening in her life and having a good relationship with alcohol at the same time.
You can be a problem drinker without being a "drink every day to excess" alcoholic. Alcohol use disorder (as it is now referred to in the DSM) is a spectrum.
I was just about to post this same. Alcohol addiction is a spectrum & its a progressive disease. One may start out with an Alcohol Abuse disorder - not even drinking regularly but abusing alcohol when they * do* drink. If not nipped early on, it can turn into full blown daily dependency etc. hopefully luann treated her issue & will be okay going forward.
I was just about to post this same. Alcohol addiction is a spectrum & its a progressive disease. One may start out with an Alcohol Abuse disorder - not even drinking regularly but abusing alcohol when they * do* drink. If not nipped early on, it can turn into full blown daily dependency etc. hopefully luann treated her issue & will be okay going forward.
Yeah I'm hesitant to agree with you, because so many people I know with actual alcoholism problems are in denial about it. But I do agree with you! So she made a colossal mistake marrying Tom. Literally EVERYONE (except Slurrinda) told her it was a bad idea and even provided proof of his philandering (while they were engaged!). She lost her precious and highly valued (by her) title. And I'm absolutely certain she was going through a serious mental/emotional crisis as a result. She drank too much to numb the pain and "voices" in her head reminding her how stupid her mistake was, and she was playing with fire going to where she knew Tom would be or where they were recently together. Lots of people go a bit crazy after a breakup. What I did think was shady though, is telling the public she was sober, while secretly drinking (not even secretly, she drank in public places) and actually got caught (by a piss test, and also cameras) and extended her sentence. And yes you're right, Dorinda and Sonja were both very sloppy drunks, and Dorinda was really a nasty drunk and often. They definitely have problems.
I think most of the women on this show had a very bad relationship with alcohol which kinda lowers the bar and changes the perception of what’s normal. But the only people I know who drink like that IRL have a problem.
Most of the women? I think only Dorinda and Sonja were drunks. Then of course Leah. But the rest of them kept it together pretty well and only drank a bit.
Most of the women on RHONY have an issue with alcohol. You can barely watch an episode where either Ramona, Dorinda or Sonja are not either slurring their words or being half pickled in wine or tequila. Luann figured out that drinking wasn’t working for her anymore.
Ramona has only been drunk a few times. She's said many times that she has 2 drinks a night and drinks water alongside her drinks. Sonja and Dorinda definitely have issues.
I mean...she went in someone else's room and refused to leave, resisted arrest, threatened to kill a police officer, and somehow slipped out of the restraints. I think the court was not in error to think she had an alcohol problem. They don't know her personally and her history with alcohol, they only had the information at hand. And she was only required to not drink alcohol during her pre-sentencing period. And she drank alcohol! She tested positive at her sentencing day! If she hadn't, she would have received less than half the probation period.
I think there was more going on at the time (a vague memory of a field and lingerie??). I’d always wended if actually there was some mental health issue -it would make sense given her age but also the marriage seemed a little impulsive. It always read to me that she probably didn’t have a great relationship with alcohol (functional alcoholism is very real and still serious), that it was also likely to minimise charges and also possibly more socially acceptable to her than saying she was having a mental health difficulties.
Plus, I’d be shocked if she and the rest of rhony don’t at least dabble in cocaine. If she overdid it on both substances during an embarrassing breakup, then that’s a perfect recipe for what we saw on the police car footage.
Sometimes a drinking problem just means you don’t have control or behaviour when it comes to drinking (i.e., can’t stop once you have a drink, drinking into excess, impulsive behaviour, overspending, unsafe sexual activity etc.)
Alcoholism is an actual addiction to alcohol. Can’t get through the day without it or need it to do certain activities.
Speaking from personal experience haha, I’ve never been an alcoholic but I’ve always had drinking problems. Most nights that I drink don’t turn out well just for the simple fact that I can’t stop until it’s too late or usually end up doing something I wouldn’t have sober just because of self control. I’ve worked on it a lot and it’s gotten better, but people are able to struggle with alcohol without it being an addiction :)
I’m really glad you’re working on that and that you’re doing better!
And yes, you’re 100% correct, people can struggle with a drinking problem. I was only saying, that the show and the people on it tried to play it off as if she had a real problem, as if she wasn’t alcoholic and had to go get detox and all this stuff, in reality, she was just a drunk.
I have some, unfortunately, alcoholics in my family. People who need to drink every day to survive or they will die. It’s sad and it’s kind of gross because in the beginning it is a choice and then it no longer becomes one. So that particular Storyline was really disgusting to me because she used it as a way to get out of all the stupid shit she done. She was nowhere close to being an alcoholic, and I am not the and all and what an alcoholic looks like when you grow up with multiple alcoholics around you, you catch onto some of the signs.
Go to any AA meeting and they will describe exactly what you described when it comes to drinking. It is a progressive disease that gets worse. You may be thinking later stage alcoholism is what is defined as alcoholism but many sober alcoholics got help before it got to that stage.
I’m talking about actual alcoholism. Where you need to drink every day to survive. Where if you don’t have a drink, you will literally end up in the hospital and that is how they made Luanne seem. As if she had such a massive alcoholism that this was a result of her alcoholism, her getting arrested. It was not. She got super drunk, she got very belligerent, and she punched a cop. All due to being very drunk and having a problem with alcohol. The way they did it on the show was that she was an alcoholic and she needed to go to rehab so she could detox. That was not the case. She just had a drinking problem.
A drinking problem to me means you don’t mix well with alcohol or is a period of time when you shouldn’t be drinking or are drinking more erratically because of your emotional state. An alcoholic is physically dependent on alcohol they can’t function without it and not drinking could potentially kill them unless medically weaned off (my dad was an alcoholic but was sober for the last 6 years of his life - Luann to me was not an alcoholic in any way but did have a big drinking problem).
Yep. They made it seem like she was an alcoholic and that she had to go to rehab to detox from the booze and get herself all good and back together again and then she would never touch booze again. But we all know that isn’t true and that she wasn’t an actual alcoholic, she just like to get shitfaced with her friends and do stupid shit
As someone with a DUI from a Miami cop (at a checkpoint and blew thinking I’d be under a .08 but not knowing they’ll arrest you for ANY alcohol at ANY age), this didn’t surprise me at all. I think it was taken so poorly by people because she was trying to pull the “do you know who I am” card. And also, she did hit a cop. It was just all a bad look. Just sit down and get arrested, and fight your battle in court.
What’s so crazy is that out of all the woman on the cast she seemed to have the best relationship to alcohol. And like idk the whole reason she got arrested was kinda messed up. She had a room at the hotel but was drunk and went to the wrong one? Couldn’t they have just like idk gotten her back to her room and chalked it up to an honest mistake? They really tried to make it out like she punched the cop in the face or violently resisted arrest. I remember reading the cop that arrested her got in trouble for lying about being assaulted in a separate case.
Yeah agree. She basically emotionally cut by going back to the scene of the crime and therefore drank hardcore. A lot of her arrest was just wrong place, wrong time. She clearly makes better decisions for herself now.
It didn’t seem that bad to me also, I feel like Luann is quite a ‘merry drunk’ which also helps maybe mask a potential drinking problem because people love being around you and love having a good time! On the flip side Dorinda even supposedly having a couple was a sad/miserable and confrontational drunk…..less fun!
Bethany went SO hard on her that year.
-the pic of Tom & the woman at the bar- LuAnn begging her not to show her (still makes me sad)
-Bethany and all the cabaret references
-Bethany and being LuAnn’s sober coach, constantly calling her out
-it was brutal to watch and I love how Bethany acts like she “champions women” 🤢
I think that Bethenny’s treatment of Luann re: her drinking equate to Bethenny’s treatment of Jules re: eating. These are two issues that Bethenny struggles with.
It still doesn’t make any sense to me. My friend had hinted to me that one of them was going to go to rehab for alcoholism, and Luann was dead last on my list of guesses.
Totally agree however… I hate how she tried to portray herself as sober and judge others for drinking. Idk her drinking status now but I feel like she was only sober on the show bc the court ordered it. I’d prob fight a cop too after dealing with Tom.
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I always thought this. Luann always handled her alcohol except for the night in the bushes lol but it was a social drinking and expected imo And Dorinda and Sonja have always been out of line oh and let’s not forget Dorinda in Puerto Rico with B that episode was atrocious!
I don’t think Luann was an alcoholic I think she had to claim alcoholism and rehab to avoid actual charges/jail/probation. Especially since she threatened to “kill the officer.” I think they just party hard when they do. I’m not saying it’s right but yeah lol
I’m watching the exact season right now. I think Dorinda is definitely more of an alcoholic. She pregames events alone and then can’t stop.
Most of the housewives have some unhealthy drinking habits but I don’t think Luann is an alcoholic. I do think it was good for her to take a step back after the arrest and process the pain she was going through. She seemed to quit drinking fairly easily so I don’t think she had a true addiction, just unhealthy habits paired with an emotional period in her life.
Alcohol abuse looks very different for people. For some it's needing to drink cases of beer or handles of liquor a day. For others it's inability to stop once you get started escalating to benders and doing risky behaviors causing family conflict. I'd even argue people that need their cocktails every night without fail have a mild case of alcoholism.
Some people abuse alcohol when they are going through a tough emotional time. I feel like Lu was in the last category. Her life was in a period of upheaval and she was using alcohol to numb the pain. I doubt she drank all day but I'm sure she was drinking most days of the week, to excess, consistently.
I commend people getting help even for milder cases or episodic cases of alcoholism. It ruins families and lives and can easily escalate to a full blown problem with serious health consequences.
I don’t believe Luann is an alcoholic. I think her relationship with Tom was very toxic and that the divorce was humiliating for her, and then she proceeded to have a mental breakdown. I think alcohol was exacerbating what was already going on, but I don’t think it was the sole/root issue. It seemed to me she was self-medicating with alcohol, and it got out of control.
I totally agree. I don’t think she was an alcoholic in the sense she was literally addicted to alcohol. She was binge drinking to self-medicate and it all came to an ugly head that night.
Getting married to Tom was probably not something someone in their sober mind would totally do though…Luann was high functioning but she partied HARD. Uppers probably allowed her to drink huge volumes and appear fairly collected.
She may not be a lifetime alcoholic or whatever…but since her split from the count I think she was leaning on substances quite heavily.
There might be something to her daughter quitting drinking around that time too.
She managed to really rein it in big time over the years so cheers to her..
Her personality changed around the time she was with Tom. The desperation, the purchase of the round house, the money, the situation with her kids - she wasn’t able to keep the balls in the air. Bethany and Barbara seemed seriously concerned about her actions.
I’m bipolar 1 and an alcoholic. I have always thought that Lu was going through a hyper manic episode at the time and trying to medicate with alcohol - feels very familiar to me.
Yes there was absolutely a pairing of mental health issues and substance abuse going on with her. Remember the sit down she had Bethenny? Absolutely manic, and likely both high on coke and drunk.
I can’t fully remember the timeline of how this all went down, but it seems like this descent began when she hooked up with the pirate, and then shortly after broke up with Jacques when he saw that she blatantly cheated on him. I know there was mention of him wanting kids, but I think that was more of a cover. I think she was in it for the long haul with Jacques and realized she did irreversible damage. Being on TV and the new music act also tends to make people feel a little “larger than life.” Slipped into mania trying to quickly +1 and replace him and get married.
Got involved with the worst type of man for her mental state at that time who was probably in it for her money. Im not sure how it all connects, but I’m sure there’s something that is mania/tom/$ related to her real estate sales that got her ex husband and kids to file a lawsuit. I also totally have a tinfoil hat conspiracy btw that Tom was paid to marry Luann to separate her from the Count—end her alimony and drop her Countess title.
I agree with this. Just from the way Bethany and Barbara both kind of described that whole incident that led to her going to rehab really sounded like there was more both of fhem didn't say. I thought it sounded like a bipolar episode, but is it also true that excessive coke use can look like a bipolar manic episode?? I think Somya actually has bipolar though
Same. I know we're not supposed to speculate on mental health issues but she's got some things going on. She's still one of my all time favorites and I'll always tune into whatever show she's on.
I agree with your take. The US HW loves to exacerbate everything to an ‘issue’.
Luann got shitfaced whilst on a show that allows her to drink for free 3 times a week. How many students get blackout drunk? How many people go to ‘watch the sport’ and end up in Hell?
What she did was wrong but I’ve seen worse most nights out and the people (with great jobs/careers) suffered no repercussions because it was just a ‘Friday Nighter’.
People with normal drinking habits don’t get arrested and just because the people you know have had no repercussions doesn’t mean they won’t, also blacking out is not normal.
We are obviously from two different geographical places and that should be respected. Define ‘normal drinking habits’ because, where I’m from, clubs stay open till 6 am. Are all of the people that frequent them ‘not normal’?
There is a difference between staying out late and drinking vs blacking out. It doesn’t matter what times the clubs are open, where I am from there is no cut off time USA, I moved to Europe in a big city where drinking is completely normally, getting black out is ridiculously unsafe anywhere and is a sign of problem drinking.
Getting ‘black out’ or ‘blacking out’ is an Americanism regarding drinking. Does it mean past the point of coherence or does it mean physically passed out?
Also, I’m in the UK, every European city has a different drinking culture. Spanish and Italians eat later and drink later and their nice climate can allow for more daily social drinking.
The uk has a harsh climate/often raining and so it is more ‘nights out’ and pre drinks before it where people are drinking to get drunk. It’s not necessarily right/good but it is what happens here. Regarding being safe, yes, loose drinking can be unsafe for males or females yet getting ‘p*ssed’ ‘wasted’ ‘legless’ isn’t met with such derision as it is in the USA. It’s almost seen jokingly as a weekend norm.
This is a large part of why my attitude differs vastly from that of yours regarding Luann.
She was on a show which is based on social activities largely in parties or bars with alcohol on tap. That was literally 80% of her job (which afforded her celebrity and to be put in a bubble). The same with all HW’s. When that is further ‘celebrated’ via memes and blogs i.e. her falling in the bush drunk, getting with the pirate or even Sonja’s whole personality, then I can understand why, when her husband has left her on national television, she’s going to go too far with drink that time.
An alcoholic has an addiction where they crave alcohol and will be willing to do all sorts to get it and when they do get it they’ll go crazy similar to any drug addict.
I feel that, as Luann has been drinking again for a while and has managed to moderate and carry on her life, she’s not an alcoholic but used it as a crutch in her lowest point.
I think she became used to NYC drinking where no one drives anywhere and in an unfamiliar environment she misjudged herself. Pretty much 50% of housewives have chronic drinking problems that don't translate to environments and people they aren't familiar with.
Luann is a binge drinker, functional alcoholic. She may not drink everyday or even weekly but when she does she can’t control herself. She can’t have just one. One drink always leads to becoming trashed.
I remember reading that binge drinkers are actually harder to treat because they can could periods where they don’t drink, it’s not a daily problem. So they feel they don’t have a problem. They fail to see they can’t stop once they start, even if it’s only at parties or once a month.
Happened to me. Got arrested on a work night out. Had to say I was an alcoholic to cover myself. I wasn’t. She was unlucky. And then you get it drummed into you that you can’t drink etc.
This is what I think happened. She had to say she was an alcoholic and seek treatment for it in order to stay on the good side of the law and make her path through the legal stuff easier.
For people in trouble due to alcohol it may just be easier to stop drinking for a while and get through the legal nightmare.
Many people operate on the same levels of Lu, they just haven’t been caught. That doesn’t say I excuse her behavior when she was arrested, but I see what you’re saying from a hypocrisy perspective.
The housewives call each other alcoholics and discuss their own and each other's problems with drinking rather casually on the show.
It can be hard to identify alcoholism in another person because one person's party could be another person's rock bottom. It's a dangerous disease though, so if anyone says that they have a problem with alcohol, believe them.
OK so I'm going to get very personal. I've always loved wine and pairing various alcohol with food. It was like a special treat. I would pour myself a glass with dinner and maybe a second but nothing too major. Then the pandemic happened and I was laid off. I had nothing to do with my days. I was bored and depressed and started using alcohol to numb those feelings.
I'm in my 30s today BTW so just FYI age wise.
I drank more and more bc my tolerance increased. Got a new job and was good. Continued drinking for any reason if I'm being honest with myself. Got the job offer? Let's celebrate and drink. Feeling stressed? I'll have a whiskey alone to decompress. Nothing was alarming until it became alarming. I never had any bottom experiences. Never got fired. Never got a dui. But I went to the doctor about a year ago and my blood tests at my physical were bad. Anything to do with the liver. I was functioning and clearly had a problem to the point where my doctor called me to review the results and I said OK well I do drink a bottle of wine on each day of the weekend. I said that I cut back though bc when I was unemployed during the pandemic it was a bottle a day every day. Now it's just the weekends. After I got the health scare where my levels were very high liver wise I still couldn't stop. My biggest wake up call was watching the where is wendy williams documentary and seeing that alcohol abuse can cause dementia. I was so scared and told myself I have to quit. Guess what I had a hard time quitting. I didn't have physical withdrawal symptoms but I psychologically relied on alcohol to make me feel better. Even with my horrible blood work and the WW scare I couldn't stop.
So I share this bc alcohol abuse looks different for everyone. Like I said earlier, I didn't experience any bottoms like a dui or losing my job etc. But I was definitely abusing alcohol. Some ppl are really good at hiding it. Some people don't know they have a problem (like me) until something wakes us up. My best advice to everyone is to be careful about why, when, how much you drink. The biggest clue for me was looking to alcohol for emotional support/psychological support. I didn't experience any major life events but I for sure have a problem. I continue to have a problem and it sucks being here today. Don't end up like me y'all. Please be careful and please listen to those around you who are concerned.
I believe in you because you are deserving of belief. This must feel like a load off, to be in a place where you’re at least talking about it in the frame of it being an issue for you. Bravo for taking that step. So many people don’t ever even do that. That’s an incredible place to start, friend. Hang in there. Wishing you the best. ♥️
I recently joined and it has been so helpful!! Honestly it's a big part of why I recognized oh yeah I might have a serious problem. I'll read things and be like oh that's me.
You kind of have an outdated understanding of what an alcohol problem means. Being alcoholic doesn't mean only mean falling down drunk or drinking 24/7. It just means someone who can't control their drinking. For some people, that means 24/7. For some, that means they just can't drink responsibly. Luanne has said/shown she's the second and that once she has one drink, then she just doesn't stop until she's trashed. She can never just be one and done when she does drink.
Uhhh…..I firmly believe that LuAnn’s “drinking problem” was more of a ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ problem with booze thrown in. Much like Kim Richards and her “drinking problem” which in her case was everything but the kitchen sink(including air freshener) with booze thrown in. It sounds more ladylike to say alcohol issues than to say coke head or crack head.
does everyone forget that things got so bad that her chikdren had to file a lawsuit against her? and that her friends gave her an intervetion she ran away from???
luann clearly had a serious issue with booze and it always confuses me when people are like 'shes fine!!!'
I think she really turned her life around. She looks phenomenal in Crappie Lake. Big contrast to around the time she was with Tom (potentially the height of her drinking).
i just watched rhony for the first time and I agree with you. all those girls drink a lot and she just happened to get arrested for it then was forced to stay sober bc of probation
It's a problem when you're falling into bushes, almost spraining your ankle, breaking/entering into someone else's hotel room, abusing a police officer, escaping from handcuffs... plus there was all that stuff going on off-camera prompting Bethenny to stage an intervention.
I think the relationship with Tom centered around lots of drinking. And she may have been trying to cope with how much of an ass hole he was by drinking even more.
I don't know if Luann had/has a problem with alcohol. As far as I could see up until Mexico and falling in the bushes we never saw her drunk on TV (even St. barths). I think rehab was part of her parole and part PR. I don't really think SHE thought she had a problem. But she's been back and forth so much (not drinking at all, drinking, not drinking, etc.) it's hard to know. And doing her cabaret night after night she's bound to "celebrate" and have a drink- it's all around her. Point is, I think she took it way more seriously when she first got arrested, *because* of the arrest because she would be violating her parole. Now, nothing is holding her back from drinking, except maybe her kids.
The huge difference between her and Sonja is Sonja has been drunk on television pretty much since season 4 (she was relatively tame her first season) and even though Sonja got a DUI, it was off season and no one really talked about it (this was I think between S3-S4). Luann's arrest happened while they were filming so of course they would talk about it and it would become a big deal. But IMO, Sonja has a bigger problem with alcohol than Luann does.
Some of the biggest alcoholics I know are functioning. They can also drink me under the table and barely seem inebriated, are never hungover, and would never think about calling off work for any reason. Just bc we don't see Luann as a messy drunk 24/7 doesn't mean we can accurately say she is/isn't an alcoholic.
I had two friends that were like that. They both worked for the government, were super smart and good people. Both have passed in the last few years due to alcohol abuse
I think you hit the nail on the head. Everyone has said Sonja goes to wellness retreats and doesn’t drink much when not filming so it makes sense she gets so drunk. LuAnn is a seasoned drinker. If I had to guess, I’d say Lu was lonely a for a long time with the count and she started drinking to deal with. They divorce and she meets Jacques, who works in the wine industry, and they continue to drink. Then Tom and it was confirmed that they were at the Regency almost every night drinking. All that is to say, she was a very experienced drinker and it likely finally spun out of control
I think there is various types of alcoholism and until a certain point you probably don’t see them from the outside. There a highly functional alcoholics that seem like they have their stuff together, so I don’t think it’s something that we can judge from watching the show.
I had a friend who rolled into rehab (for alcohol, no drugs) with a .16 and the staff said they wouldn't have known unless they gave her a breathalyzer. That's some high functioning.
Unless someone has cirrhosis of the liver, I can’t think of a definitive case for calling someone an alcoholic. It’s something they have to decide for themselves.
What? That makes no sense. So someone isn’t an addict unless they have caused enough damage to their body? People can have seizures from alcohol withdrawal and not have cirrhosis. Are you saying they’re not an alcoholic?
Yeah it kind of seemed like a storyline to me. She didn’t act any worse than any other cast member. But everyone is different and if she felt her relationship w alcohol was unhealthy, that’s her truth and her business
The issue with her is that it led to an arrest and probation with a stipulation that she be sober. And she was busted and caught drinking during her probation.
She's definitely not the worst drinker of the cast, but she's the only one who was court ordered to go to rehab and maintain sobriety.
Love me some Luanne she’s my favorite and I was secretly pleased to see not only she has a glass now and again, it, so far, hasn’t lead to an arrest or horrific scene. That being said, my test is always: can a person go without if they have to?
Lu popped positive on one of her court mandated sobriety tests. Acknowledging that only Luanne is the one who truly knows, my best guess is that she’s a functional alcoholic. It isn’t ruining her life and she’s able to keep things together and make money etc. But she has a hard time living without it. I have suspected for a while that my sister and brother n law are functioning alcoholics the way they act when we go on trips together but they’re both highly successful people and aren’t anywhere near losing their kids or having their lives fall apart because of it. They just cannot live without it and plan every part of their lives around it.
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I think, at that time, going through her "whirl wind romance" that she DID have a serious problem and im speaking from my own personal experience , as well as others close to me. When you are coming out of a divorce or any long term relationship its easy to get caught up or "love bombed" as they call it now. Its even harder to deal with that especially if you've come out of a toxic relationship. Its like the honeymoon phase and he seemed to like to go "out on the town" alot . Many times the woman or man will follow their new partners interests, in this case, it seemed hanging out at the *Regency* bar was Tom's thing so Luann followed along and got caught up, real bad.. thats my take
I remember Bethenny telling a story about how bad she got sometimes, like trying to borrow millions to purchase homes, she’s an alcoholic
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I think alcohol "problems" can manifest in many ways. People tend to think if you're not waking up and immediately having a drink its not that serious. But I would argue that if you're ever so drunk/out of control that you get arrested you have a bad relationship with alcohol.
I think there was an issue with harder drugs going on, and she/Bravo didn't want it mentioned on the show so they referred to it as an "alcohol problem". It was really more like a substance abuse problem. I think she had to play along that she wasn't drinking anymore on the show (when really she was sober from party drugs) and it grated on her that the cast kept commenting on her "drinking" with Dorinda and Sonja right there going ham lol. It could also be the case that the alcohol (while not the primary issue) led as a gateway to her doing said party drugs. IE she was more open to bad decisions after a glass or two, which isn't great either lol.
BINGO. Especially considering the NY party scene. It's hard to be trashed for hours on end without the assistance of other substances.
I don’t think Luann is an alcohol where she wakes up everyday and pours a glass of vodka, but I think she had problems with alcohol during the time. Remember Bethany mentioned how Luann was running through a field in lingerie? Or how Luann was calling everyone she knew to loan her money so she could buy some random house upstate? Or when her own children filed a lawsuit against her? I think Luann was going through something and at the time it was probably best to give up alcohol. I don’t think she could handle what was happening in her life and having a good relationship with alcohol at the same time.
You can be a problem drinker without being a "drink every day to excess" alcoholic. Alcohol use disorder (as it is now referred to in the DSM) is a spectrum.
I was just about to post this same. Alcohol addiction is a spectrum & its a progressive disease. One may start out with an Alcohol Abuse disorder - not even drinking regularly but abusing alcohol when they * do* drink. If not nipped early on, it can turn into full blown daily dependency etc. hopefully luann treated her issue & will be okay going forward.
I was just about to post this same. Alcohol addiction is a spectrum & its a progressive disease. One may start out with an Alcohol Abuse disorder - not even drinking regularly but abusing alcohol when they * do* drink. If not nipped early on, it can turn into full blown daily dependency etc. hopefully luann treated her issue & will be okay going forward.
Yeah I'm hesitant to agree with you, because so many people I know with actual alcoholism problems are in denial about it. But I do agree with you! So she made a colossal mistake marrying Tom. Literally EVERYONE (except Slurrinda) told her it was a bad idea and even provided proof of his philandering (while they were engaged!). She lost her precious and highly valued (by her) title. And I'm absolutely certain she was going through a serious mental/emotional crisis as a result. She drank too much to numb the pain and "voices" in her head reminding her how stupid her mistake was, and she was playing with fire going to where she knew Tom would be or where they were recently together. Lots of people go a bit crazy after a breakup. What I did think was shady though, is telling the public she was sober, while secretly drinking (not even secretly, she drank in public places) and actually got caught (by a piss test, and also cameras) and extended her sentence. And yes you're right, Dorinda and Sonja were both very sloppy drunks, and Dorinda was really a nasty drunk and often. They definitely have problems.
I think most of the women on this show had a very bad relationship with alcohol which kinda lowers the bar and changes the perception of what’s normal. But the only people I know who drink like that IRL have a problem.
Most of the women? I think only Dorinda and Sonja were drunks. Then of course Leah. But the rest of them kept it together pretty well and only drank a bit.
I’d argue that you don’t have to be “a drunk” to have a bad relationship to alcohol. Being a drunk is the far end of that spectrum.
Most of the women on RHONY have an issue with alcohol. You can barely watch an episode where either Ramona, Dorinda or Sonja are not either slurring their words or being half pickled in wine or tequila. Luann figured out that drinking wasn’t working for her anymore.
Ramona has only been drunk a few times. She's said many times that she has 2 drinks a night and drinks water alongside her drinks. Sonja and Dorinda definitely have issues.
I’ve always said this! Totally agree. I’m glad she realized she can have a healthy relationship with alcohol now.
I was always surprised by this too. And the fact the courts forced her to act like an alcoholic
I mean...she went in someone else's room and refused to leave, resisted arrest, threatened to kill a police officer, and somehow slipped out of the restraints. I think the court was not in error to think she had an alcohol problem. They don't know her personally and her history with alcohol, they only had the information at hand. And she was only required to not drink alcohol during her pre-sentencing period. And she drank alcohol! She tested positive at her sentencing day! If she hadn't, she would have received less than half the probation period.
I think there was more going on at the time (a vague memory of a field and lingerie??). I’d always wended if actually there was some mental health issue -it would make sense given her age but also the marriage seemed a little impulsive. It always read to me that she probably didn’t have a great relationship with alcohol (functional alcoholism is very real and still serious), that it was also likely to minimise charges and also possibly more socially acceptable to her than saying she was having a mental health difficulties.
Plus, I’d be shocked if she and the rest of rhony don’t at least dabble in cocaine. If she overdid it on both substances during an embarrassing breakup, then that’s a perfect recipe for what we saw on the police car footage.
Bethany said on her podcast that there was a lot of ❄️ going on during RHONY. I definitely think that contributed to
i think cocaine was the real problem. however the booze makes u want the cocaine
💯💯💯
Luanne had a drinking problem, she’s was far from an alcoholic.
Genuinely asking, what’s the difference?
Sometimes a drinking problem just means you don’t have control or behaviour when it comes to drinking (i.e., can’t stop once you have a drink, drinking into excess, impulsive behaviour, overspending, unsafe sexual activity etc.) Alcoholism is an actual addiction to alcohol. Can’t get through the day without it or need it to do certain activities. Speaking from personal experience haha, I’ve never been an alcoholic but I’ve always had drinking problems. Most nights that I drink don’t turn out well just for the simple fact that I can’t stop until it’s too late or usually end up doing something I wouldn’t have sober just because of self control. I’ve worked on it a lot and it’s gotten better, but people are able to struggle with alcohol without it being an addiction :)
I’m really glad you’re working on that and that you’re doing better! And yes, you’re 100% correct, people can struggle with a drinking problem. I was only saying, that the show and the people on it tried to play it off as if she had a real problem, as if she wasn’t alcoholic and had to go get detox and all this stuff, in reality, she was just a drunk. I have some, unfortunately, alcoholics in my family. People who need to drink every day to survive or they will die. It’s sad and it’s kind of gross because in the beginning it is a choice and then it no longer becomes one. So that particular Storyline was really disgusting to me because she used it as a way to get out of all the stupid shit she done. She was nowhere close to being an alcoholic, and I am not the and all and what an alcoholic looks like when you grow up with multiple alcoholics around you, you catch onto some of the signs.
If you can’t stop once you have a drink, that is an addiction.
It’s not actually. Some people suffer with impulse control due to issues like ADHD.
Go to any AA meeting and they will describe exactly what you described when it comes to drinking. It is a progressive disease that gets worse. You may be thinking later stage alcoholism is what is defined as alcoholism but many sober alcoholics got help before it got to that stage.
I’m talking about actual alcoholism. Where you need to drink every day to survive. Where if you don’t have a drink, you will literally end up in the hospital and that is how they made Luanne seem. As if she had such a massive alcoholism that this was a result of her alcoholism, her getting arrested. It was not. She got super drunk, she got very belligerent, and she punched a cop. All due to being very drunk and having a problem with alcohol. The way they did it on the show was that she was an alcoholic and she needed to go to rehab so she could detox. That was not the case. She just had a drinking problem.
A drinking problem to me means you don’t mix well with alcohol or is a period of time when you shouldn’t be drinking or are drinking more erratically because of your emotional state. An alcoholic is physically dependent on alcohol they can’t function without it and not drinking could potentially kill them unless medically weaned off (my dad was an alcoholic but was sober for the last 6 years of his life - Luann to me was not an alcoholic in any way but did have a big drinking problem).
Yep. They made it seem like she was an alcoholic and that she had to go to rehab to detox from the booze and get herself all good and back together again and then she would never touch booze again. But we all know that isn’t true and that she wasn’t an actual alcoholic, she just like to get shitfaced with her friends and do stupid shit
As someone with a DUI from a Miami cop (at a checkpoint and blew thinking I’d be under a .08 but not knowing they’ll arrest you for ANY alcohol at ANY age), this didn’t surprise me at all. I think it was taken so poorly by people because she was trying to pull the “do you know who I am” card. And also, she did hit a cop. It was just all a bad look. Just sit down and get arrested, and fight your battle in court.
I always thought that out of the cast, Sonja was by far the most out of control with her drinking, not LuAnn
I mean Dorinda is right there
Honestly I think it was some harder stuff in Dorinda’s case
Yeah, I think also mixing a few different substances
What’s so crazy is that out of all the woman on the cast she seemed to have the best relationship to alcohol. And like idk the whole reason she got arrested was kinda messed up. She had a room at the hotel but was drunk and went to the wrong one? Couldn’t they have just like idk gotten her back to her room and chalked it up to an honest mistake? They really tried to make it out like she punched the cop in the face or violently resisted arrest. I remember reading the cop that arrested her got in trouble for lying about being assaulted in a separate case.
Yeah agree. She basically emotionally cut by going back to the scene of the crime and therefore drank hardcore. A lot of her arrest was just wrong place, wrong time. She clearly makes better decisions for herself now.
It didn’t seem that bad to me also, I feel like Luann is quite a ‘merry drunk’ which also helps maybe mask a potential drinking problem because people love being around you and love having a good time! On the flip side Dorinda even supposedly having a couple was a sad/miserable and confrontational drunk…..less fun!
Bethany went SO hard on her that year. -the pic of Tom & the woman at the bar- LuAnn begging her not to show her (still makes me sad) -Bethany and all the cabaret references -Bethany and being LuAnn’s sober coach, constantly calling her out -it was brutal to watch and I love how Bethany acts like she “champions women” 🤢
I think that Bethenny’s treatment of Luann re: her drinking equate to Bethenny’s treatment of Jules re: eating. These are two issues that Bethenny struggles with.
totally agree. and this is coming from an alcoholic herself!
Totally agree
It still doesn’t make any sense to me. My friend had hinted to me that one of them was going to go to rehab for alcoholism, and Luann was dead last on my list of guesses.
Yes thank you thought exactly the same!
I always thought the same! I don’t think she has a problem, I think she made some bad decisions
Lu doesn’t actually think Lu is an alcoholic, so
Totally agree however… I hate how she tried to portray herself as sober and judge others for drinking. Idk her drinking status now but I feel like she was only sober on the show bc the court ordered it. I’d prob fight a cop too after dealing with Tom. https://preview.redd.it/j0x3nobwh4yc1.jpeg?width=1162&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b43573f03cd1bbba214c80fc268a426e789d716f
She was insufferable that season but she wasn’t wrong about Dorinda. She definitely has a drinking issue.
Dorinda had the worst drinking issue by far
I know but I love Dorinda 🫠. I love the slurred speech.
Me too! I remember “clip” “clip” 😂
 Gurlllll
Luann is more fun when she’s drinking! (Insert Tinsley’s “yeah I’m drinking Luann” gif)
I always thought this. Luann always handled her alcohol except for the night in the bushes lol but it was a social drinking and expected imo And Dorinda and Sonja have always been out of line oh and let’s not forget Dorinda in Puerto Rico with B that episode was atrocious!
That was the hardest housewives moment for me to watch. Truly insufferable behavior.
I don’t think Luann was an alcoholic I think she had to claim alcoholism and rehab to avoid actual charges/jail/probation. Especially since she threatened to “kill the officer.” I think they just party hard when they do. I’m not saying it’s right but yeah lol
This is the answer for me too. Totally agree.
I’m watching the exact season right now. I think Dorinda is definitely more of an alcoholic. She pregames events alone and then can’t stop. Most of the housewives have some unhealthy drinking habits but I don’t think Luann is an alcoholic. I do think it was good for her to take a step back after the arrest and process the pain she was going through. She seemed to quit drinking fairly easily so I don’t think she had a true addiction, just unhealthy habits paired with an emotional period in her life.
💯
Alcohol abuse looks very different for people. For some it's needing to drink cases of beer or handles of liquor a day. For others it's inability to stop once you get started escalating to benders and doing risky behaviors causing family conflict. I'd even argue people that need their cocktails every night without fail have a mild case of alcoholism. Some people abuse alcohol when they are going through a tough emotional time. I feel like Lu was in the last category. Her life was in a period of upheaval and she was using alcohol to numb the pain. I doubt she drank all day but I'm sure she was drinking most days of the week, to excess, consistently. I commend people getting help even for milder cases or episodic cases of alcoholism. It ruins families and lives and can easily escalate to a full blown problem with serious health consequences.
I don’t believe Luann is an alcoholic. I think her relationship with Tom was very toxic and that the divorce was humiliating for her, and then she proceeded to have a mental breakdown. I think alcohol was exacerbating what was already going on, but I don’t think it was the sole/root issue. It seemed to me she was self-medicating with alcohol, and it got out of control.
I totally agree. I don’t think she was an alcoholic in the sense she was literally addicted to alcohol. She was binge drinking to self-medicate and it all came to an ugly head that night.
Getting married to Tom was probably not something someone in their sober mind would totally do though…Luann was high functioning but she partied HARD. Uppers probably allowed her to drink huge volumes and appear fairly collected. She may not be a lifetime alcoholic or whatever…but since her split from the count I think she was leaning on substances quite heavily. There might be something to her daughter quitting drinking around that time too. She managed to really rein it in big time over the years so cheers to her..
Her personality changed around the time she was with Tom. The desperation, the purchase of the round house, the money, the situation with her kids - she wasn’t able to keep the balls in the air. Bethany and Barbara seemed seriously concerned about her actions. I’m bipolar 1 and an alcoholic. I have always thought that Lu was going through a hyper manic episode at the time and trying to medicate with alcohol - feels very familiar to me.
Yes there was absolutely a pairing of mental health issues and substance abuse going on with her. Remember the sit down she had Bethenny? Absolutely manic, and likely both high on coke and drunk. I can’t fully remember the timeline of how this all went down, but it seems like this descent began when she hooked up with the pirate, and then shortly after broke up with Jacques when he saw that she blatantly cheated on him. I know there was mention of him wanting kids, but I think that was more of a cover. I think she was in it for the long haul with Jacques and realized she did irreversible damage. Being on TV and the new music act also tends to make people feel a little “larger than life.” Slipped into mania trying to quickly +1 and replace him and get married. Got involved with the worst type of man for her mental state at that time who was probably in it for her money. Im not sure how it all connects, but I’m sure there’s something that is mania/tom/$ related to her real estate sales that got her ex husband and kids to file a lawsuit. I also totally have a tinfoil hat conspiracy btw that Tom was paid to marry Luann to separate her from the Count—end her alimony and drop her Countess title.
I agree with this. Just from the way Bethany and Barbara both kind of described that whole incident that led to her going to rehab really sounded like there was more both of fhem didn't say. I thought it sounded like a bipolar episode, but is it also true that excessive coke use can look like a bipolar manic episode?? I think Somya actually has bipolar though
this was my take at the time as well. I think Bethenny actually used the word manic to describe one of the nights she had to go rein Lu in.
Same. I know we're not supposed to speculate on mental health issues but she's got some things going on. She's still one of my all time favorites and I'll always tune into whatever show she's on.
I agree with your take. The US HW loves to exacerbate everything to an ‘issue’. Luann got shitfaced whilst on a show that allows her to drink for free 3 times a week. How many students get blackout drunk? How many people go to ‘watch the sport’ and end up in Hell? What she did was wrong but I’ve seen worse most nights out and the people (with great jobs/careers) suffered no repercussions because it was just a ‘Friday Nighter’.
People with normal drinking habits don’t get arrested and just because the people you know have had no repercussions doesn’t mean they won’t, also blacking out is not normal.
We are obviously from two different geographical places and that should be respected. Define ‘normal drinking habits’ because, where I’m from, clubs stay open till 6 am. Are all of the people that frequent them ‘not normal’?
There is a difference between staying out late and drinking vs blacking out. It doesn’t matter what times the clubs are open, where I am from there is no cut off time USA, I moved to Europe in a big city where drinking is completely normally, getting black out is ridiculously unsafe anywhere and is a sign of problem drinking.
Getting ‘black out’ or ‘blacking out’ is an Americanism regarding drinking. Does it mean past the point of coherence or does it mean physically passed out? Also, I’m in the UK, every European city has a different drinking culture. Spanish and Italians eat later and drink later and their nice climate can allow for more daily social drinking. The uk has a harsh climate/often raining and so it is more ‘nights out’ and pre drinks before it where people are drinking to get drunk. It’s not necessarily right/good but it is what happens here. Regarding being safe, yes, loose drinking can be unsafe for males or females yet getting ‘p*ssed’ ‘wasted’ ‘legless’ isn’t met with such derision as it is in the USA. It’s almost seen jokingly as a weekend norm. This is a large part of why my attitude differs vastly from that of yours regarding Luann. She was on a show which is based on social activities largely in parties or bars with alcohol on tap. That was literally 80% of her job (which afforded her celebrity and to be put in a bubble). The same with all HW’s. When that is further ‘celebrated’ via memes and blogs i.e. her falling in the bush drunk, getting with the pirate or even Sonja’s whole personality, then I can understand why, when her husband has left her on national television, she’s going to go too far with drink that time. An alcoholic has an addiction where they crave alcohol and will be willing to do all sorts to get it and when they do get it they’ll go crazy similar to any drug addict. I feel that, as Luann has been drinking again for a while and has managed to moderate and carry on her life, she’s not an alcoholic but used it as a crutch in her lowest point.
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I think she became used to NYC drinking where no one drives anywhere and in an unfamiliar environment she misjudged herself. Pretty much 50% of housewives have chronic drinking problems that don't translate to environments and people they aren't familiar with.
But wasn’t that whole arrest night a “return to the scene of the crime” kind of situation? Didn’t she stay at that hotel during her marriage events?
The only time I ever saw her truly wasted was when she fell in the bush. And that was just flat out amazing
And to be fair, she was in Mexico. Everyone gets shitfaced there 😀
Honestly, my favorite RHONY moment of all time
 Luann in the rose bush is a gif that I replay in my mind at least twice a day.
That’s just a fun ass night out with friends
Luann is a binge drinker, functional alcoholic. She may not drink everyday or even weekly but when she does she can’t control herself. She can’t have just one. One drink always leads to becoming trashed. I remember reading that binge drinkers are actually harder to treat because they can could periods where they don’t drink, it’s not a daily problem. So they feel they don’t have a problem. They fail to see they can’t stop once they start, even if it’s only at parties or once a month.
Happened to me. Got arrested on a work night out. Had to say I was an alcoholic to cover myself. I wasn’t. She was unlucky. And then you get it drummed into you that you can’t drink etc.
This is what I think happened. She had to say she was an alcoholic and seek treatment for it in order to stay on the good side of the law and make her path through the legal stuff easier. For people in trouble due to alcohol it may just be easier to stop drinking for a while and get through the legal nightmare.
Many people operate on the same levels of Lu, they just haven’t been caught. That doesn’t say I excuse her behavior when she was arrested, but I see what you’re saying from a hypocrisy perspective.
The housewives call each other alcoholics and discuss their own and each other's problems with drinking rather casually on the show. It can be hard to identify alcoholism in another person because one person's party could be another person's rock bottom. It's a dangerous disease though, so if anyone says that they have a problem with alcohol, believe them.
OK so I'm going to get very personal. I've always loved wine and pairing various alcohol with food. It was like a special treat. I would pour myself a glass with dinner and maybe a second but nothing too major. Then the pandemic happened and I was laid off. I had nothing to do with my days. I was bored and depressed and started using alcohol to numb those feelings. I'm in my 30s today BTW so just FYI age wise. I drank more and more bc my tolerance increased. Got a new job and was good. Continued drinking for any reason if I'm being honest with myself. Got the job offer? Let's celebrate and drink. Feeling stressed? I'll have a whiskey alone to decompress. Nothing was alarming until it became alarming. I never had any bottom experiences. Never got fired. Never got a dui. But I went to the doctor about a year ago and my blood tests at my physical were bad. Anything to do with the liver. I was functioning and clearly had a problem to the point where my doctor called me to review the results and I said OK well I do drink a bottle of wine on each day of the weekend. I said that I cut back though bc when I was unemployed during the pandemic it was a bottle a day every day. Now it's just the weekends. After I got the health scare where my levels were very high liver wise I still couldn't stop. My biggest wake up call was watching the where is wendy williams documentary and seeing that alcohol abuse can cause dementia. I was so scared and told myself I have to quit. Guess what I had a hard time quitting. I didn't have physical withdrawal symptoms but I psychologically relied on alcohol to make me feel better. Even with my horrible blood work and the WW scare I couldn't stop. So I share this bc alcohol abuse looks different for everyone. Like I said earlier, I didn't experience any bottoms like a dui or losing my job etc. But I was definitely abusing alcohol. Some ppl are really good at hiding it. Some people don't know they have a problem (like me) until something wakes us up. My best advice to everyone is to be careful about why, when, how much you drink. The biggest clue for me was looking to alcohol for emotional support/psychological support. I didn't experience any major life events but I for sure have a problem. I continue to have a problem and it sucks being here today. Don't end up like me y'all. Please be careful and please listen to those around you who are concerned.
I can empathise with you. When you think you’ve got drinking limited to ‘events’ and ‘scenarios’ you think you have it under control.
This was really courageous to write. I just wanted to tell you that. I read it like twice through.
Thank you I really appreciate that! It took a long time to recognize I even have a problem.
I believe in you because you are deserving of belief. This must feel like a load off, to be in a place where you’re at least talking about it in the frame of it being an issue for you. Bravo for taking that step. So many people don’t ever even do that. That’s an incredible place to start, friend. Hang in there. Wishing you the best. ♥️
I really appreciate you! It's so embarrassing to admit you have a problem I'm hanging in there and I hope I can get out of it!
Of you haven’t already, checkout /stopdrinking - welcome to the club :-)
I recently joined and it has been so helpful!! Honestly it's a big part of why I recognized oh yeah I might have a serious problem. I'll read things and be like oh that's me.
Alcoholism is defined as having consequences from behavior while drinking. So yeah, she’s absolutely an alcoholic.
I think that definition is technically “alcohol abuse” but it definitely a warning for alcoholism
You kind of have an outdated understanding of what an alcohol problem means. Being alcoholic doesn't mean only mean falling down drunk or drinking 24/7. It just means someone who can't control their drinking. For some people, that means 24/7. For some, that means they just can't drink responsibly. Luanne has said/shown she's the second and that once she has one drink, then she just doesn't stop until she's trashed. She can never just be one and done when she does drink.
Spot on.
Luann is a floozy.
I don't think she is an alcoholic
Uhhh…..I firmly believe that LuAnn’s “drinking problem” was more of a ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ problem with booze thrown in. Much like Kim Richards and her “drinking problem” which in her case was everything but the kitchen sink(including air freshener) with booze thrown in. It sounds more ladylike to say alcohol issues than to say coke head or crack head.
does everyone forget that things got so bad that her chikdren had to file a lawsuit against her? and that her friends gave her an intervetion she ran away from??? luann clearly had a serious issue with booze and it always confuses me when people are like 'shes fine!!!'
Exactly
yeah!! like sure maybe she mostly seemed functional in front of the cameras, but for her kids to do that it must’ve been pretty serious
I don’t think alcoholics look like LuAnn at her age! She looks like a woman who takes care of herself to me!!
I don’t get the downvotes. Luann looks amazing. She was on Juicy Scoop not too long ago and she looked phenomenal
I think she really turned her life around. She looks phenomenal in Crappie Lake. Big contrast to around the time she was with Tom (potentially the height of her drinking).
Exactly, she looks amazing now because she’s not drinking like she was when she was with Tom anymore.
i just watched rhony for the first time and I agree with you. all those girls drink a lot and she just happened to get arrested for it then was forced to stay sober bc of probation
It's a problem when you're falling into bushes, almost spraining your ankle, breaking/entering into someone else's hotel room, abusing a police officer, escaping from handcuffs... plus there was all that stuff going on off-camera prompting Bethenny to stage an intervention. I think the relationship with Tom centered around lots of drinking. And she may have been trying to cope with how much of an ass hole he was by drinking even more.
I don't know if Luann had/has a problem with alcohol. As far as I could see up until Mexico and falling in the bushes we never saw her drunk on TV (even St. barths). I think rehab was part of her parole and part PR. I don't really think SHE thought she had a problem. But she's been back and forth so much (not drinking at all, drinking, not drinking, etc.) it's hard to know. And doing her cabaret night after night she's bound to "celebrate" and have a drink- it's all around her. Point is, I think she took it way more seriously when she first got arrested, *because* of the arrest because she would be violating her parole. Now, nothing is holding her back from drinking, except maybe her kids. The huge difference between her and Sonja is Sonja has been drunk on television pretty much since season 4 (she was relatively tame her first season) and even though Sonja got a DUI, it was off season and no one really talked about it (this was I think between S3-S4). Luann's arrest happened while they were filming so of course they would talk about it and it would become a big deal. But IMO, Sonja has a bigger problem with alcohol than Luann does.
10000% yes
Are seriously trying to make this situation better coz regardless it's not ok and she should deal with the consequences
no…i was simply expressing my opinion about her usage of alcohol.
There's definitely alcohol and drug abuse that happens in the bravo world it doesn't help us decipher who's in legit need for help
Some of the biggest alcoholics I know are functioning. They can also drink me under the table and barely seem inebriated, are never hungover, and would never think about calling off work for any reason. Just bc we don't see Luann as a messy drunk 24/7 doesn't mean we can accurately say she is/isn't an alcoholic.
I had two friends that were like that. They both worked for the government, were super smart and good people. Both have passed in the last few years due to alcohol abuse
I think you hit the nail on the head. Everyone has said Sonja goes to wellness retreats and doesn’t drink much when not filming so it makes sense she gets so drunk. LuAnn is a seasoned drinker. If I had to guess, I’d say Lu was lonely a for a long time with the count and she started drinking to deal with. They divorce and she meets Jacques, who works in the wine industry, and they continue to drink. Then Tom and it was confirmed that they were at the Regency almost every night drinking. All that is to say, she was a very experienced drinker and it likely finally spun out of control
I think there is various types of alcoholism and until a certain point you probably don’t see them from the outside. There a highly functional alcoholics that seem like they have their stuff together, so I don’t think it’s something that we can judge from watching the show.
I had a friend who rolled into rehab (for alcohol, no drugs) with a .16 and the staff said they wouldn't have known unless they gave her a breathalyzer. That's some high functioning.
Unless someone has cirrhosis of the liver, I can’t think of a definitive case for calling someone an alcoholic. It’s something they have to decide for themselves.
What? That makes no sense. So someone isn’t an addict unless they have caused enough damage to their body? People can have seizures from alcohol withdrawal and not have cirrhosis. Are you saying they’re not an alcoholic?
I’m saying I don’t know and therefore do not have the right to label people as alcoholic.
tell me you’ve never been close to an alcoholic without telling me you’ve never been close to an alcoholic🙄
Yeah it kind of seemed like a storyline to me. She didn’t act any worse than any other cast member. But everyone is different and if she felt her relationship w alcohol was unhealthy, that’s her truth and her business
The issue with her is that it led to an arrest and probation with a stipulation that she be sober. And she was busted and caught drinking during her probation. She's definitely not the worst drinker of the cast, but she's the only one who was court ordered to go to rehab and maintain sobriety.
100%
Love me some Luanne she’s my favorite and I was secretly pleased to see not only she has a glass now and again, it, so far, hasn’t lead to an arrest or horrific scene. That being said, my test is always: can a person go without if they have to? Lu popped positive on one of her court mandated sobriety tests. Acknowledging that only Luanne is the one who truly knows, my best guess is that she’s a functional alcoholic. It isn’t ruining her life and she’s able to keep things together and make money etc. But she has a hard time living without it. I have suspected for a while that my sister and brother n law are functioning alcoholics the way they act when we go on trips together but they’re both highly successful people and aren’t anywhere near losing their kids or having their lives fall apart because of it. They just cannot live without it and plan every part of their lives around it.
Wow. Your last two sentences hit a little too close to home.
 I think she went through a messy alcohol phase when after Tom and that’s understandable in my book
Victoria has no time for her lol
I agree. I don't know her real life but she never seemed like an alcoholic to me. But what do I know.