Lala Kent is extending her support to a BravoCon attendee after the fan publicly opened up about his recovery journey at the event.
The Valley star, 35, shared a video of the fan’s emotional admission at BravoCon in Vegas last week via her Instagram Story on Thursday, November 20.
“I just want to say thank you for everything that you do. And when I bought a ticket to come here, I thought I was going to be celebrating a big moment for myself and my recovery and I didn’t make it,” the fan said during a BravoCon panel featuring Andy Cohen and Jeff Lewis. “So I was going to punish myself and just waste the money and not come.
The man went on to explain that he changed his mind about not attending BravoCon after he heard Kent speaking about how her dog “saved her life” amid her own addiction struggles.
“I had a very similar situation where my dog is, at one point, was the only thing that kept me alive,” he continued. “And so when I go and I got myself here, I just want to say, you’ve done a really good job at finding characters that have touched us and saved lives in some cases. Mine.”
The emotional confession was reportedly met by Lewis, 55, commenting that someone in recovery shouldn’t be attending BravoCon, which Kent addressed in her Instagram post.
“Someone sent this to me. I heard it was followed by Jeff saying, ‘If you’re in recovery you shouldn’t be at BravoCon.’” Kent wrote alongside the video. “I am in recovery, & have only attended BravoCon as a person in recovery.”
Kent offered words of support to the fan, after he shared his setback in his recovery journey as well as his gratitude for Bravo stars.
“To this man: Thank you for sharing your story. You are seen. You are heard. I am so happy you decided to come. I am sending you love, and know we are in this together. It is one day at a time,” Kent wrote. “You also made me feel less alone. So thank you. We got this.”
Kent revealed she was a reformed alcoholic in March 2019, several months after getting sober.
“Five months ago, I came to the realization that I am an alcoholic,” she explained at the time. “I am now a friend of Bill [Wilson], which you will never know how much this program means to me, has given me new life,” she added of the late Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder and his 12 steps.
The Vanderpump Rules alum has also spoken candidly over the years about her sobriety journey.
“What my sobriety looks like: I hit a breaking point where I had to identify as an alcoholic or I was going to lose everything,” she shared via her Instagram Story in February 2020. “The second that I admitted I was powerless over alcohol I knew it was time to put in the work. I started reading the Big Book, going to meetings and working very hard to never go back to that drunken version of myself.”
She added, “After 30 days I knew I wanted to feel sober forever, and it was entirely up to me – no one else. That was very empowering.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
