'Vanderpump Rules' Star, Lala Kent Opens Up About Her Alcoholism

Bravo

Lala Kent has always been candid about her struggles with substance abuse, but last month she opened up about her struggle with alcoholism -what she's doing about it.

"Five months ago, I came to the realization that I am an alcoholic, and I am now a friend of Bill W.," Kent said on Instagram.

In an interview with Page Six, Kent said that she had started drinking more heavily following the passing of her father in April 2018, and stated that she finally decided to seek out after she tried to "retrain herself how to drink like a lady."

“I’m so grateful that I have a program and that I can mourn him,” Kent said. “The program has allowed me to sit down and remember my dad in a clear frame of mind, and remember what he brought to my life, what he meant to me, what he taught me.”

"I Just Felt So Free"

On Season 7 of the show, the 29-year-old told her castmates that she had given up alcohol because she and her fiancé, Randall Emmett, made a pact after she had a drunken night where she got naked and broke through a hurricane-proof window. The star then organized a group trip to a winery in Solvang, California, but decided not to drink.

And just two days ago, Kent provided more insight into the decision to seek help about her sobriety at the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden opening party in Las Vegas.

"The second I admitted to myself I'm an alcoholic was like the moment that I just felt so free," she said. "I've never been happier. I still have my struggles, but the difference is I see the light at the end of the tunnel every single day. If I have a bad day I know it's gonna be okay tomorrow. So I wake up with the same goal every day - don't have a drink."

"Drinking For Me Was Medication"

Lala then went on to explain how Alcoholics Anonymous meetings has been the biggest help to her. "I swear by the program of AA," she told Page Six. "I know that old-timers will hate me for talking about the program because of it being an anonymous program. But there is a generation, my generation, that's struggling and they need to know about this program. It exists and it's saving my life."

Lala also revealed how crucial her fiancé's support has been to her during her recovery in an interview with Cosmopolitan in December. "My fiancé always says I have this sixth sense where I know when things have gotten to a point where they need to change, so I can't really pinpoint one incident," she said. "When I really came to the conclusion that I am in that zone of having a problem, I just said enough's enough. I picked up the phone, I called this sponsor that had been recommended to me."

She went on to reflect. "Drinking for me was medication instead of celebration. Instead of going and talking to somebody about losing someone extremely important to you, we turn to things to medicate," she said. Imploring others to to the same, she urged readers to "reach out to someone, reach out to a grief counselor, partner with someone who can make you feel like you're not by yourself and going completely insane" instead of using alcohol to cope.