Exclusive

Lindsay Lohan's "Crazy 48 Hours": Dina Lohan Says Daughter Is "Happy" in Rehab

Exclusive: "She knows she needs help this time," mom Dina tells E! News

By Natalie Finn, Ken Baker May 03, 2013 10:12 PMTags
Lindsay Lohan, Dina LohanGuillermo Bosch/INFphoto.com

Lindsay Lohan's mom admits that it's been "a crazy 48 hours."

"A crazy five years!" Dina Lohan added, exclusively talking to E! News about her daughter's whirlwind odyssey from New York to L.A. that ultimately ended with the 26-year-old being checked into the Betty Ford Center "just on time."

"I am so relieved and thankful that Lindsay is getting the help she needs in a credible place," Dina says. "She actually wanted to go, whether the court said to or not. She is happy there, to get introspective and get back on the right track."

Lohan, who was sentenced March 18 to 90 days in rehab for reckless driving and lying to a peace officer, had until yesterday to show proof to the court that she was officially checked into a treatment program—and she just made it after the judge wouldn't sign off on her other L.A.-area pick, Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach.

"We wanted her at Seafield, but it wasn't the smoking excuse like was reported," Dina says, referring to Seafield Center in the Hamptons. (It was rumored that Lindsay had wanted Morningside instead because they let residents smoke.)

Dina says that her ex-husband Michael Lohan is a former Seafield patient and that, while they were willing to admit Lindsay, the staff didn't want him visiting her during her stay. 

But Morningside wasn't approved by the court, so on to Betty Ford, where Lindsay was admitted today at around 1:30 a.m.

"The people are so dedicated at that place. It is a great facility," Dina says. Lindsay "didn't give anyone trouble. She had just gotten word [that Morningside] wasn't approved by the court. She didn't want to unpack and then a few days later have to move. She felt it was best to get into a place that the court has approved and let her start her treatment. They are very protective of paparazzi and leaks and very professional. She just needs to heal peacefully and quietly."

Dina says that attorney Shawn Holley is indeed back on Team Lohan, but she calls her daughter's now former attorney Mark Heller a "sweetheart" who worked for them for free, unlike Michael, who told E! News he was "really happy" to see Heller go.

"He was a godsend at the time," Dina counters. "There are no hard feelings. We were all out for the same thing, to get [Lindsay] through this. It's not like anyone is mad. They are all adults."

Lindsay "is gonna be OK," Dina says. "She has a different frame of mind this time. She realizes and she knows she needs help this time. She was like, 'I'm sorry, Mommy.' And I tell her, 'Don't say you are sorry. You just have to work on yourself and on getting well. Don't beat yourself up.'

"The bottom line is that [addiction] is a disease. It is a gene. Pretty much one in every family in the world carries it. It is difficult. You just have to heal."