RHOC alum Braunwyn Windham-Burke drank two bottles of tequila a DAY & suffered ‘hallucinations’ before she got sober
REAL Housewives of Orange County alum Braunwyn Windham-Burke has revealed she drank two bottles of tequila a day and was left shaking and hallucinating when she wasn’t boozing.
Opening up about the scary experiences at the height of her addiction before getting sober two years ago, mom of seven Braunwyn says she is now in the best place she’s ever been.
The 44-year-old former reality star, who also came out as gay in 2020 and later split from her husband Sean, has had previous stints in rehab, but feels she’s finally kicked the habit.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun from her home in Newport Beach, she said: “In the beginning, it was like skinny margaritas. And then towards the end it was just tequila.
“I would drink two bottles of tequila a day sometimes. I was really good at being like, ‘Well, I’ve been a stay home mom for 19 years.’ I was really good at making excuses for my behavior.”
Braunwyn admits her life had become unmanageable and producers on the Bravo show warned her to stop drinking, but she felt her addiction was out of control.
“That first year I remember going to the finale and the producer that was with me was like, ‘I have orders to not let you drink beforehand.'”
The RHOC alum continued: “I think people were starting to realize, because I wouldn’t remember scenes, I would think one thing happened and I was wrong.
“It’s scary to not remember entire terms of your night. And then have to watch them back on national television.
“At the end, I physically couldn’t stop. And it hurts not drinking. It’s physical. You shake, you sweat, you hallucinate a little bit. It’s painful.”
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Asked if she knew why she had an issue with alcohol, the TV star said she felt it may be “genetic,” explaining: “It runs on both sides of my family. Rampantly. My father died from this disease.
“When I have one drink, I lose the ability to stop. I don’t know why. These people exist, they go out and they have a glass of wine. And I’ve studied them.
“I would drink when I was out for social anxiety. It made me feel better. I started drinking at 14 because I was insecure and uncomfortable.”
‘I PHYSICALLY COULDN’T STOP’
Braunwyn went years without drinking but always slipped back into the habit and hit “rock bottom” more than once before trips to rehab and signing up to AA meetings.
“I still worked out every day, I’d be so hungover at Orange Theory. I was a functional alcoholic. I never drank and drove. And I would go sometimes like four days without drinking.”
The Real Housewife revealed: “I almost was able to convince myself, I’d have some bad nights, but then I’d go a while. Like, oh, I’m fine. See if I had a problem. I wouldn’t be able to go two weeks without drinking.”
The most recent time she got sober was January 30, 2020, and she continues to take each day as it comes, while also going to regular therapy sessions.
“Two years is a long time without a drink, but a short time to be sober. I never want to get ahead of myself, forever it a long time. I’m not gonna drink today.
NEW CHAPTER
“Does this feel different than the other two times I got sober? It does because I know in my soul I’m an alcoholic. The other two times I didn’t admit it, you know?
“I know that if I have one drink I will have 10 and I will die. I know that. That’s my pattern. So for me, admitting that I was an alcoholic, took a huge weight off my shoulders.”
Brauwnyn, who is now dating model girlfriend Victoria Brito, splits her time between Newport Beach with her seven children, and the couple’s one-bed pad in New York.
Along with working on a new top secret reality TV project, she is also a key speaker at events within the sober and LGBTQ+ community, helping others like her.
Asked what her advice would be for others, she said: “If you’ve said to yourself, I think I have a problem. You do.
“If you’re making rules for your drinking, only on the weekends, only beer and wine, only after five, you probably have a problem.
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“I think it’s a common misconception that alcoholics drink every day. And it’s not true. Alcoholics can go a long time.”
She concluded: “My best advice would be stop drinking today. And get medical help if you really need it. There’s no other day but today and you will never regret it.”
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