Bravo TV’s Real Housewives are a lot of things. They’re typically rich, loud and overly botoxed. They are usually showbiz or professional sports-adjacent, with a handful of realtors and restaurateurs thrown in. They make a big show of caring about charities while they hock their music, clothing, jewelry, skincare, hair care and even sex toy lines. And let’s not forget the booze—they’re positively soaked in booze. They sip champagne or rosé in nearly every scene, and most of them have at least attempted to launch a liquor label at some point. But until this year, when Eden Sassoon joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, you wouldn’t use the word “sober” to describe one of them.
Beverly Ills
Sure, child actress-turned public train wreck Kim Richards dominated the RHOBH storyline for several seasons with her substance abuse issues, but she never really got sober on the show. (RehabReviews.com/AfterParty Editor-in-Chief Anna David once actually discussed this on HLN.) The relapse drama and codependent dynamic between Kim and her co-star sister Kyle Richards eventually became too much for everybody, including the producers apparently. Kim hasn’t been a regular cast member for a couple of years and, while we wish her all the best (like how I’m the self-appointed Bravo super-fan spokesperson?) it’s probably better if she works on her recovery off camera.
My Addiction
Some might consider my obsession with the Real Housewives an addiction. I can’t lie—I’ve watched every episode of every season since the premiere of The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2006. No matter how busy and serious my life gets, I always have a secret stash of these ridiculous shows on my DVR. I wait until my husband and kid are asleep and then I indulge. Before you judge me, consider this: I haven’t had a drink or a drug in more than 15 years, I haven’t smoked a cigarette in over a decade and I hardly even drink coffee anymore since I’ve been pregnant or nursing for the last few years. Can you just cut this reformed party girl a break and let me have one fucking vice, please?
I’m an equal opportunity Real Housewives watcher—every city from New York to Dallas and the obscure overseas sister spin-offs in London and Melbourne. I was even a fan of the ill-fated DC franchise that went (fake) tits up after one season because a particularly heinous housewife specimen thought it would be no biggie to crash a White House dinner with the cameras in tow. Since I’m in recovery, I’m always making mental notes of just how much these ladies drink and I’m also hyper aware when a cast member seems coked-out or over-Xanaxed (which is a lot). I’m always rooting for the housewives to take the path of self-awareness, introspection, self-care and spiritual growth. (And by rooting, I mean my Twitter is dominated by #RHO and my opinions about their lives.) But, until recently, they’ve rarely surprised me.
A Fresh Face
Imagine my delight when the new addition to the Beverly Hills cast came out almost immediately about being in recovery! Eden Sassoon, daughter of the late iconic hairstylist Vidal Sassoon, made her first appearance on RHOBH during a pilates/lunch date (because that’s normal) with a couple of the other ladies. She opened up about her older sister Catya’s drug overdose in 2002 at the age of 34. This immediately struck a chord with one of her lunch companions Lisa Rinna, who also lost her older sister to a drug overdose. Rinna has talked (probably a little too much) on the show about her sister’s death and her famous husband Harry Hamlin’s sobriety. I want to applaud Rinna for being outspoken about the disease of addiction, but she tends to come off a little over the top and preachy for somebody who isn’t actually sober.
Enter Eden Sassoon. The divorced, 43 year-old mother of two is just as upfront about recovery—and she has the personal experience to back it up. She immediately breaks it down, talking about growing up in Hollywood and watching her older sister party with (ironically) Kim Richards and Robert Downey, Jr. Eden says she took her first drink at age 15 and knew almost instantly she had a problem. Man, I can relate with that. She describes her state of mind right before she got sober four years ago as being “done,” which also resonates with me, and probably everybody else who has ever fought their way out of an addiction. So, at this point, I’m hopeful and extra interested. Watching it is like my two worlds—recovery and housewives—colliding. (Yes, I consider housewives a world; as I pleaded earlier, judge not!)
Voice of Reason
Sassoon puts her money where her mouth is by intervening in a stupid old argument between Rinna and Kim Richards (who makes a special guest appearance at her sister’s game night). It’s one of those scenes I love because it would never happen in my real life: the women are dressed in fabulous outfits and fighting while they sit sedately sipping wine. Kim and Rinna are having a new variation of an argument that started years before and it’s so ridiculous that everybody at the table is just disgusted.
Eden, sipping her water, steps in. She looks at Kim Richards and pulls some recovery ninja shit, challenging Kim to dig deeper and express what is really bothering her. When Kim admits that she’s hurt and feels she is owed an apology, Rinna immediately obliges (because she’s basically a nice person and totally on the spot) and it actually seems sincere. Everybody at the table is stunned. Despite having been to every corner of the world, these women are suddenly speaking a completely foreign language: sanity.
Will Eden Sassoon’s sobriety and spiritual principles turn the typically passive-aggressive drama queens on their heads this season or will she end up struggling against the dysfunctional flow? I think it’s really too early to say.
But you know I’ll be watching and waiting to find out.
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