'RHONY' Alumna Leah McSweeney Launches A New Podcast!
By Taylor Hodgkins on March 18, 2023 at 3:00 PM EDT
Leah McSweeney is gearing up to dish on the chaos of it all!
The "Real Housewives of New York" alumna and upcoming "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip" cast member has long been familiar with keeping it real with the public. McSweeney has no qualms with keeping anything quiet; the Married To The Mob CEO detailed her life story in her memoir "Chaos Theory: Finding Meaning In The Madness, One Bad Decision At A Time," released last year.
McSweeney vulnerably tackled her sobriety and discussed her experience with NYC nightlife as a teen, which played a role in her eventual rehab stays.
Now that her time on 'RHONY' has likely come to an end, McSweeney has a new outlet to connect with her fans and continue serving realness; she is launching a podcast!
Before we look into the vulnerability McSweeney shared in "The Leah McSweeney Show''s first two episodes, let's look back at what she shared while promoting her memoir last year.
McSweeney Turns Choas Into Connection: How McSweeney Discussed Sobriety
McSweeney's memoir was not the first place where her fans had gotten to know a bit about her sobriety struggles. During her two seasons on the show, she was candid in sharing her sobriety experience on camera, including how she had begun drinking again after nine years after being cast on the show.
While promoting "Chaos Theory" last year, McSweeney sat with her mother, Bunny, for an appearance on the "Tamron Hall Show." She discussed the magnetic pull she had felt from using recreational drugs as a teen.
McSweeney shared her desire to seek community at a young age, and how she thought she'd found it in the rave scene.
While her adult self believed going to raves had been life-saving for her younger self, she was also honest in sharing how partying continued to elevate the sense of 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,'' McSweeney shared with Hall.
Feeling out of place at her Catholic high school also contributed to her feelings of being lost. She also revealed her teen self had felt "scapegoated" at school and shared how her family's economic status and non-famous last name also kept her from feeling accepted at the Upper East Side school.
McSweeny's hard-partying days also took a toll on her mother, Bunny. Bunny shared how she "still" felt some guilt over the duo's fraught relationship during her daughter's teen years.
Bunny proclaimed how she had felt "like somebody had left our house at 13, and a different person walked in," when Leah had begun experimenting.
Still, Mama McSweeney feels that her daughter's story could be an asset to readers' lives.
Bunny shared she had been feeling "hopeful" "Chaos Theory" would be helpful for those readers in a similar place to McSweeney.
'The Leah McSweeney Show' Tackles Anxiety And Sobriety In Inaugral Episodes
The first two episodes of the "Leah McSweeney Show" were released on March 14th to podcast outlets, ahead of the "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls' Trip" third season premiere.
McSweeney hosts Dr. Ellen Vora, who specializes in anxiety in the first episode. McSweeney introduces Dr. Vora as a "holistic psychiatrist who is on a way different vibe" than any doctor McSweeney had previously encountered.
Dr. Vora has also written a book; she is the author of "The Anatomy Of Anxiety."
Marnell sits down with NYC-based author and recently "sober queen" Cat Marnell for episode two. Marnell had previously interviewed McSweeney for Interview Magazine last year while she had been promoting her memoir.
Marnell and McSweeney candidly took a hindsight look into their younger days, and Marnell detailed how her drug-fueled past has influenced her next book. Marnell revealed her next book will be "auto-fiction."
The duo also dished about the secret ingredient in their writing process: humor!
McSweeney's "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip" experience reportedly was quite dirty- but not in the way you'd might think!
McSweeney's experience in Thailand will reportedly feature some poop stirring. According to Vulture, she allegedly tossed some "elephant dung" at her castmates at one point, in an effort to get them to let loose!
A Bravo producer commented on the experience during BravoCon last October: Shanae Humphrey confirmed the incident, while producer Lisa Shannon revealed that yes, there had been some poop in the first place involved in the cast's visit to an elephant sanctuary!
The first three episodes of 'RHUGHT' will be released on Peacock on March 23rd!