PAINFUL TRUTH
RHOC’s Braunwyn Windham-Burke reveals daughter Rowan, 19, was on the ‘brink of death’ from ‘terrifying’ eating disorder
RHOC's Braunwyn Windham-Burke opened up about her daughter Rowan and her "terrifying" eating disorder.
The 19-year-old was on the "brink of death," according to her mom who struggled with alcoholism.
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Braunwyn, who was seen sobbing in the Season 15 premiere of as she admitted she was an "alcoholic", opened up about her daughter's own struggles.
In a joint interview with , the TV star who was let go of the Bravo show ahead of Season 16 to get sober spoke alongside Rowan on the latter's "terrifying" eating disorder.
“All I wanted as a mom was to fix it. What can I do to fix it? And there was nothing I could do,” Braunwyn began on her daughter’s struggles with her body image.
“Once she hit 18, it was becoming harder. … When you’re a parent and you see a kid who hasn’t eaten for, like, 30 days, is 25 pounds underweight than they should [be], literally on the brink of death, and can’t even eat a single vegetable, that’s scary, it’s terrifying,
The ex-RHOC star added on Rowan, a dancer who would exercise daily for hours on end in addition to forgoing meals:
“I was so afraid we were going to lose her. She was so close to dying. I remember begging her to eat this carrot, holding her baby sister who’d just been born, saying, ‘Please eat this for her.’"
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Rowan spoke on her own journey compared to her mother’s and how she now lives nearby in LA with her girlfriend, strengthening the mother-daughter bond:
“I feel like, with everything that you’ve been through and everything that I’ve been through and the amount of self-growth and development that we’ve both been doing, you’re able to understand me a lot more than you ever have."
Per Page Six, mother Braunwyn is now three-years sober and after becoming the first openly LGBTQ Real Housewife, daughter Rowan was inspired to come out as pansexual.
“Some of [the stories] are about my sexuality. Some of them are about my own battles with food,” mom said.
"[Rowan] didn’t realize that I had struggled with a lot of the same things that she did."
BRAUNWYN'S OWN STRUGGLES
In December, Real Housewives exec producer Andy Cohen shared Braunwyn was fired because she "wasn't in healthiest spot" as she was getting sober.
The Bravo host felt it wasn't the right time for her to be on television as she dealt with "serious life stuff."
She was on the show for a few seasons starting in 2019, and the final batch of episodes documented her marriage troubles with husband Sean Burke, her admitting she’s an “alcoholic,” as well as her coming out as gay.
After a season of big reveals and changes and then getting fired, Braunwyn shared during an interview on that she had a really rough time.
The ex reality star revealed: “I was suicidally depressed a few times. And I did have to go get help once.
“This was prior, this was the first time I got sober.”
Andy later explained on SiriusXM’s that he and some of the other producers decided not to bring her back, hoping she would focus on her health, instead.
He said: "I will say regarding Braunwyn, I really, I really give it up to her and commend her for being so open and letting us in, especially relating to her journey with sobriety."
The TV personality was married to her husband Sean Burke for over two decades, sharing Bella, 20, Rowan, 19, Jacob, 15, twins Curran and Caden, eight, Koa, six, and Hazel, three.
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In December of 2020 after the Bravo star came out publicly as a lesbian, the couple decided to date other people - Braunwyn since split from girlfriend Fernada Rocha.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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