UPDATE, 11/2/23 at 5:29 p.m. ET:
Shannon Beador released a statement to Us following her sentencing.
“I am grateful that no one else was injured besides me in this incident,” she shared. “I have learned so much from my terrible mistake that night and realize that driving any distance while impaired is too far.”
Per a separate statement from her lawyer, Michael Fell, the Real Housewives of Orange County star “pleaded no contest/nolo contendere this morning to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving when she had a blood-alcohol level of .08 or above.
“The Orange County District Attorney’s Office argued that Shannon should be sentenced to jail and be convicted of DUI and a hit-and-run,” Fell continued in his statement to Us. “But after receiving legal arguments from both sides, the judge denied the prosecutor’s request and dismissed the hit-and-run.”
Because Beador “made full restitution to the homeowner in this matter, who did not desire prosecution, and admitted her wrongdoing at an early stage of the proceedings,” she “took full responsibility for her actions and accepted the judge’s sentence of 40 hours of community service, 9 months of alcohol classes and the standard three years of unsupervised/informal probation.”
Original story continues below:
Real Housewives of Orange County star Shannon Beador will not face jail time following her September arrest.
The Bravo star, 59, was sentenced to three years of informal probation on Thursday, November 2, after she was arrested and charged with a DUI and hit-and-run, Us Weekly can confirm. She must also pay various fines, complete 40 hours of community service and finish a nine-month alcohol program. TMZ was first to report the news.
Beador was charged by the Orange County District Attorney on October 27 with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and a second count of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level higher than .08%, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly last month. Her blood alcohol level was more than .20 percent at the time of the arrest, per the docs.
She was also charged with a third count of a hit-and-run with property damage. All three of Beador’s charges are classified as misdemeanors.
Beador was arrested in September for reportedly driving erratically through a neighborhood in Newport Beach, California. TMZ reported at the time that she had driven onto a residential property where she clipped a house while attempting to park her car. Beador allegedly exited her vehicle with her dog and tried to appear as if she was walking the pet when the police arrived.
Following her arrest, Beador’s attorney, Michael Fell, released a statement, noting that she was “extremely apologetic and remorseful” for her actions.
“I spent quite a bit of time with Shannon yesterday,” Fell told Us. “We will be awaiting the official information on this case as it becomes available, and Shannon is prepared to accept full responsibility for her actions.”
Beador later broke her silence on October 17, one month after the incident occurred.
“I know it’s been a while since I posted and there’s been a lot of talk about what happened recently,” she shared in an Instagram Story video at the time. “But unfortunately, right now, I’m not in the position to comment. But there will be a time when I can, and I intend to be open, honest and authentic.”
She gave followers a glimpse of her dog, Archie, before concluding her statement.
“Right now, I’m focusing on getting healthy, getting back to myself and walking Archie,” Beador shared.
Her friend Jeff Lewis has since weighed in on the situation, addressing rumors that Beador has an alcohol problem — a topic that was previously addressed on RHOC.
“I don’t think Shannon is an alcoholic. As her close friend, I think she’s going through a lot of personal struggles right now and I think that she probably has been leaning on alcohol, but I don’t believe she’s an alcoholic,” Lewis, 53, said on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live in September. “I am happy to say that she is going to be entering counseling this week, so I am happy about that.”
