The Newcomer with Old Habits: Leah McSweeney on Struggles With Mental Health and Addiction
A socialite, an entrepreneur, and a housewife — a real one at that.
Leah Mcsweeney might be the newest cast member of The Real Housewives of New York City, but she never missed a beat in racking up the show. And if you think this newbie is just another part of the NYC high society, wait until you see her turn the whole Season 12 down with her unpredictable antics, hilarious clap backs, and overall wild personality.
But behind the wealth and success we are currently enjoying on-screen, the 38-year old entrepreneur actually didn’t have an easy way towards her rise to success.
McSweeney before #RHONY
Even before becoming a The Real Housewives of New York breakout star, McSweeney had already accomplished a lot in her own right. She is the American fashion designer behind Married to the Mob (MTTB), the cult-favorite streetwear fashion line for women landing her in several pages of publications in the likes Vogue, Inked, Nylon, and many more.
But her life has not always been about the glitz and glamour.
Growing up in high society, the New York-native found it hard fitting in with her environment, eventually getting expelled from the Upper Eastside All-Girls Catholic School back when she was 14 years old.
In an episode of The Real Housewives of New York City, McSweeney casually looked back at the bitter memory and shared her experience with her fellow cast members. She did a tell-all of such a phase in her life, recounting that after 3 months of staying in rehab for teenage drinking, she was told that they will not allow her to return back to their home – just when her parents finally came to pick her up.
“I was a really f**ked up teenager,” McSweeney confessed, “I put my parents through hell. My mother was like, ‘Hey we really can’t have you in the house anymore because you’re disrupting your brother and sister’s life.’”
Still shocked by what her mother said, she then went on to ask where she would live, but her mother just told the young McSweeney that she “simply wasn’t going home.”
McSweeney was then dropped off by her parents in another house where she would live. But, to the surprise of her wild, troublesome 14-year old self, it was completely run by nuns.
Because of this happening, McSweeney suddenly realized that she was in a very dark place in her life, and that her parents, particularly her mother, were just trying to save her.
“Now I realize that my mother was trying to save my life because she had to push me out and go, ‘You have to face the consequences of all your actions, all your behaviors,'” she said to the other girls, describing such a challenging phase in her life.
Up to this day, she still gives all the credit to her mom to the reason why she sobered up, and ever since that day, the actress has lived her life away from alcohol for 9 years.
Sinking back to alcoholism
They say bad habits die hard, and we’ve come to see it live on national television through the reality show star.
Until during the filming of RHONY, McSweeney began to go back to her long-dead drinking habits, as little as they may seem. Many fans watched on live television how she tossed lit tiki torches, skinny-dipped in the pool during the cast trip to the Hamptons, and even got into an argument with a fellow cast member, Ramona Singer, over the seemingly harmless issue of wanting to add more vodka to her mixed drink — which Singer turned down as she thought McSweeney was a “recovering alcoholic.”
Aggravated by her response, McSweeney started to throw things around.
This was significantly followed by another episode where McSweeney told her mom about the drinking incident during the Hamptons trip. Disappointed, her mother in turn did not answer any of McSweeney’s calls or text.
“When she heard I’m drinking again, it’s just like a trigger to her. I definitely think that my mom still views me as that wild teenager. It’s very hard for her to accept me as a 37-year-old woman who’s got her sh*t together.”
McSweeney had then admitted that she was already getting back to alcohol for about 6 months before the filming of the show. But, she strongly denied relapsing into alcoholism again and claimed that she’s not “back off the wagon”, insisting that there was never a point in her life where she was “back on it.”
She claimed that she was drinking only because she realized that she was in “such a good place” in regards to her life and is now at a point where she could drink and have fun again without having any issues. “As I said on the show, I struggled as a teenager with addiction issues, behavioral issues, just mental health issues, just overall issues.”
She said that she had a “very clear message” when she decided to stop drinking in her late 20’s and she has no plans to go back.
McSweeney then admitted that though she was completely away from alcohol and did some “program stuff” — rehabilitation, to be exact — in a span of 9 years, she wasn’t “100% out of it” claiming that she still smoke pot and “micro-dosed” on some occasions.
Healing at the time of pandemic
Today, although we are in the middle of a serious global health crisis, it seems like this pandemic is the best thing that has ever happened for Leah McSweeney’s life.
During the quarantine period, she decided to be sober again because according to her “quarantining” and “the way she drinks” doesn’t really mix together very well. So she decided to cut down her intake of alcohol altogether, saying:
“Not drinking during the pandemic has been a complete gift to me and the [past] nine years of living booze-free has made the transition much easier to deal with.”
She then continued to say, “I don’t want to minimize alcoholism and addiction issues. Especially right now in this quarantine, people are really struggling. And, if you are an alcoholic, it’s very hard to stay sober. Even if you’re not an alcoholic, you might be over drinking right now. So, I don’t want to minimize or make light of situations, but it’s just a very personal issue, and it’s something that I’m monitoring.”
This is not the first time that McSweeney has decided to cut off her intake of alcohol, but she is dedicated this time to succeed, now more than ever. According to the star, it is because this it first time in her life that she is doing it with a public platform, making her feel the responsibility as she went on to say:
“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 [are] something I’ve been open about and will always continue to be.”
This only goes to show that Leah McSweeney is not just The Real Housewife of New York City — she is also The Real Survivor of her own life.
Also won a similar battle against addiction just like Leah McSweeney? Sit down for a chat with us in the comment section and tell us how you conquered it, step-by-step.
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