LuAnn de Lesseps is a sober and "happier" person since her highly-publicized arrest.
"[I] was definitely self-medicating," de Lesseps told the publication. "I was using alcohol to numb myself, and now that I'm aware of that, I don't foresee that I am going to have this problem again."
"Right now, I'm just not into drinking because I feel so much happier without it," she said.
De Lesseps returned home in January after seeking treatment for alcohol abuse.
She had checked into a facility in December after she was arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication and battery on a police officer."I just felt like it was an out-of-control moment for me, and I don't like to be out of control," the star said of her arrest.
"It was very embarrassing and all I can say is that it changed my life in such a way now. I just feel like so much more control and happier," she shared.
"I would start with a martini and maybe have two martinis, and then get into the wine at dinner," she recalled. "Then I'd have a little bit of vodka soda going out."
De Lesseps confirmed she's presently avoiding alcohol but taking her sobriety day by day.
"All I know is that not drinking works for me right now. Will I drink again? I don't know. I miss good red wine," she said. "Who knows where we'll all be tomorrow. For today, that's the choice that I'm making for myself."
