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Shannon Beador‘s close friend and fellow Bravolebrity, Jeff Lewis, offered an update on the Real Housewives of Orange County star on his radio show on Monday, just after her DUI arrest was confirmed.
Following the news that Shannon, 59, had been caught driving under the influence of alcohol and committed a hit and run after driving into a house, the former Flipping Out cast member, 53, confirmed she sustained injuries as her attorney released a statement.
“I spent quite a bit of time with Shannon yesterday. She is extremely apologetic and remorseful. We will be awaiting the official information on this case as it becomes available, and Shannon is prepared to accept full responsibility for her actions,” the attorney told TMZ on September 18.
Around the same time, Jeff confirmed the RHOC cast member had pulled out of her upcoming appearance on his show.
“[Shannon Beador] has canceled Friday for obvious reasons, if you read, I think it’s everywhere right now. Unfortunately, she got into a bit of trouble on Saturday night,” Jeff shared on the September 18 episode of SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live, via Rate My Bravo on Instagram.
According to Jeff, he was with Shannon and her ex-boyfriend, John Janssen, on Friday night as they celebrated his boyfriend Stu’s birthday at Nobu and also visited Elk’s Lounge, where they enjoyed a live cover band. Then, the following day, Shannon opted out of the continuing festivities.
“I invited Shannon on Saturday to go to Stu’s birthday. he said she was staying in but she ended up going out. Unfortunately, she got a DUI on Saturday night. She was also in a car accident,” he shared. “She was injured so she’s gonna be recovering.”
While Shannon’s drinking has been a topic of conversation in recent years on RHOC, Jeff insisted she has never been one to get behind the wheel while intoxicated.
“Shannon and I have been friends for a very long time. I was shocked. She called me yesterday. We talked for a while and I was shocked because I’ve never known Shannon to ever, ever, ever drink and drive. That’s something that we both have discussed previously,” he revealed. “So I’m shocked. I will tell you she’s accepting full accountability. She is ashamed [and] she’s embarrassed.”
As RHOC fans well know, Shannon has been labeled as an “alcoholic” in the past. But despite her recent arrest, Jeff said she’s simply someone who is going through personal hardships.
“People are like ‘Oh, she needs rehab. Oh, she’s an alcoholic.’ I don’t think Shannon is an alcoholic. I think as her close friend, I think she’s going through a lot of personal struggles right now and I think that she probably has been leaning on alcohol but I don’t think she’s an alcoholic,” he stated.
He then said he’s happy to confirm that she’ll “be entering counseling this week.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
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