Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Treating patients on the new season of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky has gotten Jennifer Gimenez up close and personal with plenty of deeply suffering famous people — and that’s what she says sees when she watches Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In this exclusive Wetpaint interview, Jennifer — who became a cocaine addict and alcoholic while a successful model and up-and-coming actress — talks about the problems facing some of the Housewives, plus what she learned about Lindsay Lohan while helping her dad battle his own demons.

Wetpaint: Do you see a connection between reality TV fame and substance abuse?
Jennifer Gimenez: I do see that. On a show like Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, these women are under a lot of pressure. The problem comes with exploiting your life, with putting your life for the world to see, there’s a lot of pressure that comes with it. I really believe that if you don’t have a foundation, you’re going to get sucked into it. And I know a lot of people say, “Oh, Hollywood takes you down. That lifestyle takes you down.” But I don’t believe that lifestyle takes you down. I believe they take themselves down in that lifestyle. And that has been my experience being in the entertainment world. People say, “Hollywood takes you down, it’s a bad place.” That’s not a bad place, it’s me not having a foundation. It’s me putting pressures on myself — that takes me down. And it takes them down.

When you see some of the problems the Housewives go through, do you relate?
I do relate. I think that’s what is so fascinating about reality TV is that we’re watching this and we’re watching a record of our life, though it might not be the exact same thing, but we do relate. It’s human emotions that these women are experiencing and it’s really sad. Like, you watch Taylor [Armstrong] and it’s like, “Wow, she’s so sick!” You have compassion for these people, and I can relate to just trying to find and establish who I am. These women are just trying to uncover who they are in some sense.

We’re not sure exactly what Taylor Armstrong sought therapy for, but she does seem to be having a really hard time. What advice would you give her?
I believe that she needs more than therapy, and that she could break the cycle so her children wouldn’t have to see this. There’s learning to cope with living life. A therapist can do so much, but working with another person who has gone through what she’s going through can definitely help. No matter what — you don’t drink, or pop pills, or do drugs — if she’s in a bad situation, she can get out of it.

Do you see anything in common with some of the Housewives and some of the people you’ve treated?
Oh, I’ve definitely seen a lot of commonality there with the women and the patients that we’ve had on Celebrity Rehab. People tend to suffer from addictions that may not be alcohol or drugs — the addiction to fame, the addiction to more, more, more. “I need more money. I need more fame. I need more clothes. I need more gambling.” It’s that desire to keep going and not being able to stop. I’ve seen that and there’s a lot of people like that on our show as well.

Of the latest group of celebs on Celebrity Rehab, was there anyone you most identified with?
I identified with everyone in some sense on the show. I got very close with Dwight “Doc” Gooding. That guilt and remorse, and him being a drug addict and alcoholic. I related to the fact he had so much shame. See, that’s why people keep relapsing. They jump into alcoholism, not that they want to but they get that pain and that guilt that they’re carrying, and that weight on their shoulders. It’s about being able to handle life on life’s terms. I also had a lot of compassion for Michael Lohan. He’s a good guy underneath all that all that stuff that carries him and gives him that pain. And Bai Ling. She’s an eccentric, free spirited girl. I related a lot to her. I really adored her.

Speaking of Michael Lohan. He needed rehab, and he says his daughter Lindsay really needs it. Does addiction run in the family?
The disease of alcohol and drug addiction is a gene and you inherit it. I don’t think Lindsay has to look so far down the tree line to find out who it is, and Michael’s been very public about it. That’s how it really happens. I think that they’ve separated themselves so much, but yet both Michael and her are both sharing this disease. It’s something that they’re both going through. They’ve suffered so much.

If substance abuse is a gene that runs in the family, what are the chances that Kim Richards’ kids will face those kinds of problems as they get older?
It doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen with [an addict’s] children. It may not be the mom or dad. It could be their great aunt, great grandpa, their third cousin. It could skip a generation or so. The thing is that Kim has an opportunity to get better and break the cycle. And what the whole thing about alcoholism and drug addiction is, is that someone may be carrying the gene but they’re not exposed to it because they haven’t awakened the beast — in the sense of, they haven’t taken a drink or drug and they haven’t fallen from grace. It’s about learning to cope and having coping skills.