Exclusive

Luann de Lesseps Shares Shocking New Details About Her Arrest

Real Housewives of New York City star Luann de Lesseps just shared shocking new details about her arrest. Hear what she said on Just the Sip.

By Mike Vulpo May 06, 2020 7:46 PMTags

If you ask Luann de Lesseps, there's always more to the story.

It's no secret that the Real Housewives of New York City star faced some legal hurdles following her arrest in Palm Beach, Fla., back in 2017.

But after accepting a plea deal and finishing her probation sentence, the Bravo star is looking back on her journey.

"I try to keep a sense of humor about it. My cabaret show—one of the reasons I think it's successful is because I'm honest with the audience," Luann explained on E!'s digital series Just the Sip. "I self-deprecate about what happened to me because I think people can relate. It could have happened to anyone what happened to me."

She continued, "And you know the police officer that arrested me is in jail [for] making false arrests against people. Karma's a bitch. I really haven't talked about it because I'm still going through finishing my probation so I didn't want to raise any awareness to it but the day I got off probation is the day I found out he went to jail."

According to online court records, officer Steven O'Leary is still in jail, being held on dozens of charges including tampering with evidence, making false official statements, false imprisonment and more. According to local outlets, he pled not guilty to all charges and requested a jury trial.  

YouTube

A rep for the Palm Beach Police Department where the officer worked previously told Page Six his cases "have been reviewed by internal affairs and there were no discrepancies."

Ultimately, Luann told E! News' Justin Sylvester exclusively that she's not one "who dwells on the past." Instead, she's grateful for the lessons she has learned and for the close relationships she has continued to maintain.   

"Probably the worst part was dealing with my family and the kids. It was a lot for me to go through but think about my children. It was really tough," she shared. "That was the hardest thing but it brought us even closer as a result."

Watch: Luann de Lesseps' Most Important Lesson From "RHONY" Drama

And who knows? Perhaps one day she will have more to say about her experience in the legal system.

"I just got through it so maybe not right now but I think I'm going to write a book eventually about this whole thing so people know exactly what happened to me," she teased. "Since then, I've been working with The Fortune Society."

Real Housewives of New York City airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo. Catch up with past episodes online now.

(E! and Bravo are part of the NBCUniversal family)

Watch Daily Pop weekdays at 12:30 p.m., only on E!