Shannon Beador is opening up about her recent DUI arrest and her breakup in an exclusive new interview from the carpet at BravoCon 2023.
Talking with ET's Brice Sander, the Real Housewives of Orange County star, 59, revealed she is doing well less than two months after she was taken into custody for driving under the influence in Newport Beach, California.
Beador -- who was sentenced to 36 months of probation, 40 hours of community service and a nine-month-long alcohol program on Nov. 2 -- said she has been focused on getting better and improving herself.
"I've spent the last month focusing on myself," Beador told ET. "I went to a program for 28 days and I am -- I have started and I'm continuing to eliminate toxic and unhealthy things in my life."
She clarified that while that does mean she is axing alcohol from her diet, it's not the only thing she is cutting out.
"I haven't been drinking and, you know, there's certain relationships that I've ended as well," she said.
In January, Beador and her boyfriend, John Janssen, split after three and a half years together. The pair remained in contact, however, up until recently.
"We have not spoken for over a month and I don't have any intention [to]," Beador told ET at the Bravo-centric event.
When asked if she feels "lighter" because of her decision to go cold turkey on their relationship, she responded: "Absolutely I do."
According to court documents obtained by ET, Beador was behind the wheel on the night of Sept. 16 when she crashed her vehicle into a building in Newport Beach, causing $24,000 in damage. The reality TV personality paid for the damage, her attorney Michael Fell told ET.
In September, a person familiar with the crash gave ET an inside scoop on what exactly happened that night.
"Shannon got home from a night out and realized she left her phone at the place she was at. She wasn't able to call an Uber without her phone and decided to drive back to the place, resulting in the accident," the source told ET. "Shannon is devastated and knows she made a big mistake. She has always been against drinking and driving and never does. She’s telling friends this lapse in judgment won’t happen again."
The Housewife was arrested at the time of the incident and was charged in October with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or more, and one count of hit-and-run with property damage. All three charges were misdemeanors.
According to the criminal complaint obtained by ET, Beador had a blood alcohol concentration of .20 percent or more by weight at the time of the crash.
When police arrived at the scene, Beador was "expelling blood from her left eye which dripped down her face, onto her chest, and on her hands" when first responders arrived at the scene. Police also said she was crying and "stumbling" on the sidewalk after exiting her vehicle.
"I am grateful that no one else was injured besides me in this incident. I have learned so much from my terrible mistake that night and realize that driving any distance while impaired is too far," Beador said in a statement following the sentencing.
In October, the mom of three who has more than 1 million Instagram followers finally broke her silence online, telling fans she couldn't comment but that she would talk about the incident when she could.
"I know it's been a while since I posted, and it's been a lot of talk about everything that's happened recently, but unfortunately, right now, I'm not in a position to comment," Beador said in a video posted on Oct. 17.
She also promised she would be "open, honest and authentic" when the time came.
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