‘RHOC’ Star Braunwyn Windham-Burke Reveals She’s an ‘Alcoholic’
Oct. 16 2020, Updated 1:58 p.m. ET
The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member Braunwyn Windham-Burke revealed she's "an alcoholic" during the season 15 premiere on Wednesday, October 14, to costar Emily Simpson, who called her out for drinking too much last season.
"I am very nervous right now," Windham-Burke, 42, tearfully admitted while sitting down with Simpson, 44. "Some things have happened. First of all, I need to say that I am sorry."
The reality star continued, "You called me out on my drinking last year. Instead of taking it to heart, I really pushed you away. Basically, I think I just got angry with you, and I came up with reasons to be mad."
Windham-Burke's confession came after a trip to Miami where she accompanied Kelly Dodd to celebrate her now-husband Rick Leventhal's 60th birthday. She admitted to partying hard during the trip and said it was "bad."
"I didn't stop drinking for four days," she revealed. "Every hour I would keep doing a shot. I was drinking so much I thought I was going to die."
While talking with Simpson, the mom of seven said her husband, Sean Burke, told her that she's "going to rehab" if she continues to drink because he didn't know she was "hiding alcohol" and "refilling bottles." During a confessional interview, Windham-Burke shared that her first drink was "a warm beer" at age 14 when living with her grandfather.
"It was a peacefulness that I've never felt before," she recalled, adding that she had been working through "some abandonment."
Simpson responded to her friend's confession saying that she would do anything to "support" her. Then added, "To me, there was obviously a problem because I felt like you were masking something and doing it with alcohol."
Revealing that she has to stop drinking "forever," Windham-Burke confessed that she's "scared" of who she is without alcohol. She explained, "It’s much easier for me to be the fun, crazy one than to be myself.”
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In a separate confessional interview, Windham-Burke admitted, "I don't know if it's divine intervention, but for the first time in my life I can say, 'My name is Braunwyn and I'm an alcoholic.'"
