Shannon Beador admitted she was ‘shocked’ to see her bloodied face in a selfie from the night of her DUI arrest, as she had no recollection of taking the photo.
The 60-year-old reality star opened up about the graphic pic after a teaser for the new season of The Real Housewives of Orange County featured her sharing the selfie with a costar.
‘That was really traumatic for me,’ she told People on Friday. ‘As you can see, I was injured pretty badly and when I looked at it, it almost felt like I was looking at someone who wasn’t me.’
‘I didn’t want to see myself that way, and I didn’t want anyone else to see me that way either’ she continued. ‘I honestly thought I’d never show it to anyone.’
Shannon acknowledged that showing the photo with her RHOC cast mate meant it would likely go viral, but she was willing to take that risk.
Shannon Beador admitted she was ‘shocked’ to see her bloodied face in a selfie from the night of her DUI arrest , as she had no recollection of taking the photo; (seen in November 2023)
The 60-year-old reality star opened up about the graphic pic after a teaser for the new season of The Real Housewives of Orange County featured her sharing the selfie with a costar
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‘It was a big step for me to take that,’ she explained to the outlet. ‘When someone Googles my name probably for the rest of my life, that’s what they’ll see: my face, covered in blood, from the night that easily marked the lowest point of my entire life. But I wanted to be able to speak of everything that happened.’
In September 2023, Shannen was arrested in Newport Beach for crashing her car into a planter box attached to a house, with a blood alcohol level recorded at .24, three times the legal limit.
Reflecting on the accident, she expresses gratitude that no one else was harmed, but she has mixed feelings about her own well-being.
‘Oh, I deserved to get hurt, I made a very stupid choice,’ she said. ‘I could have killed someone.’
Beador was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, and ordered to complete a nine-month alcohol program after the incident, in which she crashed into a home in Orange County.
The troubled reality star was given 36 months of informal probation plus fines and fees. She will also have to complete 40 hours of community service and a nine-month alcohol program.
In an emotional new promo, Beador spoke with co-star Heather Dubrow, 55, about the lead-up to the incident – and claimed she was called a ‘drunken idiot’ by ex-boyfriend John Janssen – whose house she had been at moments beforehand.
Beador said: ‘I got in the car, lost control’ before showing a snap of her bloodied and bruised face from the accident to Dubrow. Blood was seen running down Beador’s face and neck in the harrowing image.
‘That was really traumatic for me,’ she told People on Friday. ‘As you can see, I was injured pretty badly and when I looked at it, it almost felt like I was looking at someone who wasn’t me.’
‘Oh, I deserved to get hurt, I made a very stupid choice,’ she said. ‘I could have killed someone’
Dubrow said: ‘Oh, Shannon! Oh my God!’
Beador also discusses her alcohol consumption now, telling Emily Simpson she is a ‘two drink max person right now’ and says she does not drink ‘that often.’
However when Tamra Judge asks Dubrow if she believes Beador has ‘like an alcohol problem’ – Dubrow says: ‘Yeah I do.’
The stars are seen at a group dinner when Beador reveals she thinks about her DUI every morning – with Judge responding: ‘Is that after you have a drink?’
Beador retorts: ‘I’m done with people saying I’m the drunk that needs help, because I am not. I had a really bad night. I want to walk out right now, because I’m ruining my makeup, so I gotta walk out,’
Beador has described her DUI as a ‘terrible mistake’ as she addressed her arrest at BravoCon 2023, held at Caesars Forum in November.
‘It’s been a tough six weeks, but I will tell you that I made a terrible, terrible mistake and I’m incredibly grateful that it didn’t hurt anyone,’ Beador told the audience, per Variety.
Shannon also said she completed ’28 days of behavioral wellness’ counseling with an alcohol specialist, adding she’s been able to ‘focus on elements of my life that are unhealthy and toxic. I’m moving in a good and positive direction.’
Beador is pictured with Janssen in 2019
The stars are seen at a group dinner when Beador reveals she thinks about her DUI every morning – with Judge responding: ‘Is that after you have a drink?’
Beador also discusses her alcohol consumption now, telling Emily Simpson she is a ‘two drink max person right now’ and says she does not drink ‘that often’
However when Tamra Judge asks Dubrow if she believes Beador has ‘like an alcohol problem’ – Dubrow says: ‘Yeah I do’
In November 2023 the Bravo staple did not show up to court herself, and instead she had her attorney appear on her behalf to enter her plea of no contest to one count DUI and one count driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more.
The judge dismissed the single count of hit-and-run with property damage.
A source close to Shannon said: ‘It is safe to say that she is relieved and is grateful that she won’t have to go to jail. This experience has taught her so much and shown her the path to a better life. She is sober and is doing very well.’
Legal documents originally obtained by TMZ revealed that Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer attempted to convince the judge to dole out a sentence of 30 days in jail.
Beador was arrested in September after she crashed her car into a Newport Beach home.
Video surveillance footage shows Beador speeding through a residential area before smashing her car into the side of a house.
In the legal documents, DA Spitzer wrote that Beador had a .24 percent Blood Alcohol Content ahead of the crash — three times the legal limit.
Beador walked away from the crash with a fractured left wrist, in addition to cuts and bruising to her left eye.
Beador retorts: ‘I’m done with people saying I’m the drunk that needs help, because I am not. I had a really bad night. I want to walk out right now, because I’m ruining my makeup, so I gotta walk out’
She has since paid for the property damage to the house she hit.
Following her September arrest, Beador’s lawyer Michael Fell told DailyMail.com: ‘Shannon is extremely apologetic and remorseful. 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.’
After sentencing, Fell said this: ‘Shannon 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.
‘But after receiving legal arguments from both sides, the judge denied the prosecutor’s request and dismissed the hit-and-run. In so ruling, the judge acknowledged that Shannon had 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.
‘As we first reported she would, Shannon 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.’
Beador herself said: ‘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.’
In the wake of the accident, Beador told her fans and followers that she is ‘focusing on getting healthy, getting back to myself and walking Archie (her dog).’
It has been a tough year for Beador whose beau John Janssen blindsided her by splitting in November 2022 after nearly four years of dating.
Beador was handed a sentence of three years of probation plus fines, community service and the mandatory completion of an alcohol abuse program; seen in 2020
Staple: Beador has been a staple of the Orange County branch of the housewives since 2014; (L-R) Emily Simpson, Shannon, and Tamra
John broke up with Shannon shortly after filming for season 17 of RHOC had wrapped, but she did not go public with their split until January.
Shannon made her relationship with John official on Instagram in July 2019 after ending her tumultuous marriage to David Beador.
The reality star has daughter Sophie, 21, and twin daughters Stella and Adeline, 19, with ex-husband David.
Shannon has faced other legal trouble after her ex John sued her for $75,000 for money he allegedly loaned her to pay for a facelift, which he claims she never repaid.