Luann de Lesseps Says She Is ‘Free From The Shackles Of Alcohol,’ Isn’t Worried About Relapsing

After returning to rehab in July, Real Housewives of New York City star Luann de Lesseps is sober now and claims that she is not worried about relapsing again.

De Lesseps returned to the stage to perform her cabaret show called #CountessAndFriends, this time at The Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey. De Lesseps has previously performed her show at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York City.

While her cabaret show was light and entertaining, poking fun at her alcoholism, she later opened up to reporters backstage, talking more openly and seriously about her struggle with sobriety.

The countess, who is now 40 days sober, told People, “I’m in a really good place. I don’t feel like drinking. I’m committed to my sobriety. I want it more than anything.”

“I have temptations and I go, ‘Wait, that’s the old Luann.’ Because you’re so trained… it’s like second-hand,” she continued. “But I feel like I’m in the driver’s seat now.”

De Lesseps, who first went to rehab in December 2017 and has since been in and out amid facing criminal charges, now claims that she feels free of her addiction. “I feel free of the shackles of alcohol,” she said. “Not to say it’s not a struggle, but for the moment, I don’t feel like drinking at all. It’s this new freedom and I love my freedom.”

The RHONY star’s last stint in rehab only lasted around three weeks but insists that this time is different, claiming, “I feel like I’ve had a turning point.” She also attributes her last relapse to the stress of the lawsuit her first husband filed against her last month. Referring to her flourishing cabaret, de Lesseps said that she is “not going to let drinking get in the way” of her show’s success. “It’s too menial,” she added. “I don’t want to mess it up.”

“It’s crazy,” she said, “but a very dear friend of mine said to me, ‘You know, you’re not pretty when you drink. Your face changes.’ And not that I’m so vain, but it was like a switch that went off.”

De Lesseps noted that looking back on her drunken behavior in some of the past RHONY episodes “repulses” her, claiming that watching those moments “turns me off to drinking completely.”

Not only does the countess feel as if she has finally turned a new corner, she also doesn’t miss drinking alcohol. “I’ve totally turned on to mocktinis,” she added. “And I don’t wake up in the morning and go, ‘Damn, I wish I have a hangover.'”