Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

In a preview for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 2 Reunion, Part 3, Kim Richards admits for the first time on TV, “I am an alcoholic.” In her first post-rehab interview, which will premiere February 13, the reality star reveals much more, and the new issue of Life & Style has a few details.

On December 5, 2011, the reality star checked into the Betty Ford Center near Palm Springs, CA for alcoholism. “I just didn’t like me anymore,” Kim confesses to Bravo's Andy Cohen during the interview. “I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror.”

“I had so much guilt and shame for my behavior… then I drank to cover the guilt and shame and make it go away,” she says. “It’s a vicious cycle.”

Kim completed a 30-day treatment program, but the ex-child star admits it wasn’t her first try at rehabilitation. “I am a person who has done it and relapsed and done it [again],” Kim admits. And she’s not alone: 90 percent of alcoholics relapse in their first four years of being sober, according to About.com.

Luckily, Kim has the support and love of co-star and sister Kyle Richards — a key element in staying sober. Kyle tells Life & Style she admires her sister for “having the courage to admit she had a problem and to seek treatment,” even though it was hard for the mother of four to leave her family.

In the video, Kim looks healthy and we wish her all the best. Catch Kim’s full interview February 13 at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

Source: Life & Style, About.com

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