Leah McSweeney opened up concerning the affect The Actual Housewives of New York Metropolis had on her psychological well being in a brand new Vainness Truthful article. The story, titled “Inside the Real Housewives Reckoning That’s Rocking Bravo,” was revealed October 30 with interviews from a number of ex-housewives together with Leah, Bethenny Frankel, and Eboni Okay. Williams, who recounted their experiences starring on the Bravo franchise. Leah, 41, advised Vainness Truthful how she struggled throughout season 13 of RHONY due to the demise of her grandmother. And after the viewers had a damaging response to Leah’s second season on the present, she advised producers she was leaving the collection by cellphone in late 2021.
However only a few weeks later, Leah “suffered a major depressive episode” due to RHONY and her grandmother’s passing, her interview revealed. Her mother, Bunny McSweeney, and the daddy of her teenager daughter moved into her house earlier than she was moved to Silver Hill Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Connecticut. Leah was admitted to the hospital on January 23, 2022 and she or he stayed for eight days, which was the longest period of time she may spent there beneath her insurance coverage.
The Vainness Truthful story reveals Leah — who was sober earlier than becoming a member of RHONY for season 12, beginning consuming once more on the present, after which bought sober earlier than season 13 — blamed “the show” for “emotional trauma” and “exploitation” when she was at Silver Hill Hospital. For the reason for her “psychological trauma,” Leah mentioned, “I can say all of that shit is the show, but at the same time I did a deal with the devil so I need to figure out how to deal with it and win but at what cost.”
Leah additionally alleged within the story that the producers of RHONY weren’t supportive of her sobriety journey. She claimed co-showrunner Darren Ward advised her, “This shit is boring as hell,” and “You better turn it up” when she wasn’t consuming throughout filming. She additionally alleged that Andy Cohen “looked disappointed” when she advised him that her relapse wasn’t caught on digicam.
Leah bought sober for season 13 however needed to take care of the demise of her grandmother throughout filming. She admitted she regrets happening the solid journey to the Hamptons to please manufacturing regardless of her grandmother being so sick. “It hurt so bad that I was not able to grieve,” Leah advised Vainness Truthful. “That I had people not showing me any kind of compassion or humanity regarding it.”
Whereas season 13 was airing, Lisa Shannon from Shed Media, which produces RHONY, allegedly advised Leah that the viewers “didn’t like” her as a result of she was sober, Leah claimed. That was the breaking level for Leah who determined to give up the present earlier than Bravo formally fired the complete solid and rebooted the collection.
Leah returned to tv for season 3 of Peacock’s The Actual Housewives: Final Women Journey which filmed in Thailand in July 2022. She had a tough expertise on the present and ended up within the hospital after struggling a panic assault. A number of months after filming, Leah discovered she wouldn’t be concerned in RHONY: Legacy with a few of her different former co-stars like Dorinda Medley and Luann de Lesseps.
Shortly earlier than RHUGT 3 began airing in March 2023, Leah filed a discrimination lawsuit towards Bravo, Shed Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, and a number of other producers together with Andy, for allegedly violating the Individuals with Disabilities Act, in line with her Vainness Truthful interview. Nonetheless, an lawyer for the defendants denied Leah’s claims and insisted that they supplied her assist amidst her struggles, however Leah “maintains those were either subsequently reneged on or she felt weren’t offered in good faith.”
