RHOC star Gina Kirschenheiter believes that co-star Shannon Beador is still drinking following her DUI and thinks she has a drinking “problem.”
Gina Kirschenheiter has some major concerns about Shannon Beador’s relationship with alcohol, even more so following her September DUI.
In September, Shannon Beador was arrested for DUI after driving into a Newport Beach home while intoxicated. Gina believes that Shannon’s behavior is that of someone “who has a problem” with alcohol while also admitting that she hoped her co-star would have entered rehab following her shocking arrest.
The 39-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County star appeared on the December 7 episode of The Sarah Fraser Show podcast, where she discussed Shannon Beador’s DUI and the drama that occurred in their friendship as a result of her drinking.
“They say that that level to which you’re drinking is indicative of somebody who has a problem,” Gina said, noting that Shannon Beador blew three times the legal limit following her DUI.
According to Gina, she credits Shannon Beador’s forgetfulness to her drinking. Throughout season 17 of RHOC, Shannon didn’t remember calling and telling her co-stars about her relationship woes with then-boyfriend John Janssen. She also forgot about telling the RHOC cast that she saved Gina’s children from being taken away by CPS following Gina’s own 2019 DUI.
“I believe that she didn’t remember saying that [because she was drinking]. That, to me, is a problem,” Gina said.
When asked if she thinks Shannon Beador is currently drinking, Gina took a long pause then said:
“This is not information that I know directly from myself, so I don’t know whether to verify it or not, but I have heard…. She’s not said that she’s not drinking, right?” Gina said. ”I would ask her that question.”
She continued, “She’s not gonna be outed, I’ll tell you that much. It’s hard for me because I don’t like speaking on things that I’ve heard through other people, and I don’t know that directly, but I would be very curious… I was shocked that nobody asked her that point blank at BravoCon.”
Gina notes that she doesn’t believe Shannon’s drinking habits have a positive influence on her life.
“I think it’s only contributing [to] bad things in her life. My take on it is, why don’t you just try [sobriety]?” the 39-year-old said. “And if you’re not an alcoholic and you don’t have a problem with drinking, it should be very easy to simply just stop drinking for a bit.”
She went on to shut down gossip that Shannon’s ex-boyfriend, John Janssen, wasn’t the best influence on her due to his alleged love of partying. Per Gina, Shannon is the only one who is responsible for her drinking and DUI.
“It’s her drinking, and I’m not going to say it’s not,” Gina said. “I’m somebody who went through that experience and I will never blame the mistake that I made on anybody else. It’s because of my choices that I decided to make. Are there contributing factors to why perhaps you’re drinking more, or you’re a little out of control? Yeah, but at the end of the day, you make the choice to get in that vehicle and drive that car.”
Gina then admitted that she “hoped” Shannon would have entered rehab instead of outpatient treatment following her DUI.
The mom of three also touched upon her own decision to stop drinking. After her DUI in 2019, Gina says she made the decision to stop drinking, although she still indulges here or there with a sip or two of alcohol.
“I haven’t drank in almost two years,” she explained before clarifying, “If I’m cheers-ing with Heather Dubrow, I can have a sip of champs, and it’s not a big deal.”
“Everybody’s sobriety is different. That’s why I don’t push. I’m not trying to drive the sober train; I just think everybody should do what is good for them and maybe not do the things that are bad for them,” she continued.
The Real Housewives of Orange County will return for season 18 in 2024.
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