Leah McSweeney may have been a perfect candidate to add to the fan-favorite ‘Housewives’ chaos when she joined “The Real Housewives of New York City” for its twelfth season, but today, McSweeney is reborn.
The ‘RHONY’ star is now completely sober and is busy reflecting on her past struggles with drugs and alcohol in her recently released memoir “Chaos Theory.”
McSweeney charmed viewers with her ability to breathe new life into the ‘RHONY’ cast, by giving a fresh and younger perspective to the show, with her ability to bring more of a millennial viewpoint to ‘Housewives’ New York, much to the chagrin of some of her older castmates.
The Married To The Mob owner struck up a friendship with Tinsley Mortimer, and managed to appease her critical castmate Ramona Singer a bit, but she was also well-remembered for some of her party-girl moments during her first season.
McSweeney often talked about her sobriety journey when cameras were rolling. Before being cast on ‘RHONY’, she had begun drinking again after nine years of sobriety.
Her ability to candidly share her struggle with drugs and alcohol is largely on display in “Chaos Theory.”
In the book, she covers many significant events from teenhood rehab stays, her mother’s decision to let McSweeney fend for herself after turning 18, and how it felt to maintain her struggles with a newfound giant platform after being cast on “The Real Housewives Of New York.”
Taming The Chaos
Yesterday, McSweeney and her mother Bunny appeared on the Tamron Hall Show to promote “Chaos Theory”. McSweeney candidly spoke about her 13-year-old self’s desire to continuously chase the feeling of happiness inspired by getting high.
She told Hall, “It’s like a cycle” [and it] “makes you more depressed so you keep using drugs.”
McSweeney honestly revealed the reasons why she was drawn to doing drugs and partying at such a young age. She revealed she was “Seeking escape, but also community” while going to raves. She also added going to raves “Saved” her life, but also continued to elevate the unrest in her life. “It also hurt my life in a lot of ways, and I lost out on things. It’s a ‘catch 22.’” she added.
The teenage years can universally be remembered as a difficult time in everyone’s lives. Many of us deal with the awkward humiliation of dealing with crushes and popular girls, but McSweeney also dealt with feeling rejected by her Upper East Side school. She felt “Scapegoated” by her Catholic school because her family “Didn’t have a famous last name, [and] we weren’t donating money.”
“I didn’t fit the typical Sacred Heart ‘mold’” She shared.
Bringing Up Bunny: McSweeney’s Mom Reflects
McSweeney’s mother Bunny, who has frequently appeared on ‘RHONY’, appeared alongside her daughter for the interview, and the duo shared vulnerable insight into their relationship.
Bunny believes her daughter is “A great writer” and her story she writes in ‘Chaos Theory’ is “Very honest and open,” and she is hopeful that Leah’s candid storytelling will “Help a lot of people.”
McSweeney’s teen years under her mother’s roof were a difficult chapter for both mother and daughter.
After being asked by Hall if she has any “parental guilt” over her daughter’s turbulent teen years, Bunny candidly revealed she “Still” feels some all of these years later.”
“It feels like somebody left our house at 13, and a different person walked in,” Bunny shared.
Her daughter’s difficult days were marked by “A big sense of loss that we lost Leah for six years. That’s always my feeling that we lost a lot… she lost a lot…”
Navigating Leah’s journey wasn’t an entirely negative experience for her mother. Now that mother and daughter are years away from their difficult period, Bunny shared, “I guess what makes me happy is that [Leah] found herself. We had faith through it all that she would come back” after her multiple rehab stays as a teen.
Bunny also knew her daughter was capable of achieving greatness despite her dark situation. “She was a fabulous kid.”
Leah Continues To Make Big Changes
When planning her book, the reality star was captivated by chaos theory. Britannica defines chaos theory as being “The study of apparently random or unpredictable behavior in systems governed by deterministic laws.”
McSweeney had already chosen the title for her memoir before researching chaos theory more in-depth. She hoped others would relate to the concept in their lives as much as she personally did.
“Chaos Theory” hit stands on April 5th.
McSweeney is keeping mum over whether we will be able to hear more about her sobriety journey on ‘RHONY.’ She “isn’t sure” if she is returning to the show as of this writing, but Tamron Hall remained optimistic!
We will toast Leah’s two years of sobriety in the meantime!
