A tiny shoulder to lean on. Leah McSweeney gave credit to her 13-year-old daughter, Kier, for helping her stay in good spirits while struggling with her mental health.
“Didn’t realize how badly I was suffering from depression on and off for the past year until a couple weeks ago when I told my mom and [ex-boyfriend] Rob [Cristofaro] if it wasn’t for Kiki I’d feel like giving up,” the Real Housewives of New York City star, 38, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, February 23. “I feel guilty for feeling like that because of how blessed of a life I have. But depression does not discriminate.”
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McSweeney told her Instagram followers that she adjusted her medication “a couple times throughout the last year” and has also turned to exercise to stay healthy mentally and physically.
“[I] am forcing myself to work out everyday which is a huge part of getting my brain to feel better,” she wrote. “As well as doing spiritual work.”
The Bravo personality added that she looks forward to “writing more about Mental health in detail in the near future.”
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McSweeney is no stranger to opening up about her struggles. After joining the RHONY cast, she talked about her sobriety and battle with bipolar disorder throughout season 12, which aired in 2020.
“I was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder on my 30th birthday and really dedicated the last seven years of my life to getting it under control and to getting myself in a good place,” she told viewers in a July 2020 episode, noting that she was “not even on medication” at the time.
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The Married to the Mob founder also candidly spoke about her rambunctious childhood and teenage years on the reality show.
“My parents basically threw me out at 17, not that I didn’t deserve it,” she told Ramona Singer in an April 2020 episode. “I kind of did, but they were like, ‘Bye, you need to figure your s–t out.’ … I was so rebellious. I was so angry that we moved from New York to Connecticut. I was so depressed about it.”
McSweeney and Singer, 64, are set to return for season 13 alongside Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan and newcomers Eboni K. Williams and Bershan Shaw. Dorinda Medley and Tinsley Mortimer, meanwhile, exited the series in 2020.