Luann de Lesseps was briefly handcuffed before being released on Thursday.
Luann de Lesseps was taken into police custody on Thursday in Palm Beach, Florida.
The 54-year-old Real Housewives of New York City star was taken into custody for violating her probation following her arrest for battery, disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest in December of 2017, according to court documents obtained by ET. In regards to de Lesseps in the court room on Thursday morning, a spokesperson for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida tells ET that she was put in handcuffs in the court room. She was then called to the podium. Her probation was reinstated and she was released.
Additional terms have now been added to her reinstated probation, including having weekly telephone meetings with her treating psychiatrist and in-person monthly check-ins.
In a statement to ET, de Lesseps said reports that she was taken to jail are false.
"I'm glad the judge was understanding once made aware of the evidence provided and I was then released," the statement reads. "I am now looking forward to completing my remaining few months of probation. I want to put this behind me and move forward with my life."
De Lesseps was arrested on Christmas Eve 2017 in Palm Beach, and was charged in January 2018 with the felony of resisting an officer with violence, as well as misdemeanor charges of trespassing and disorderly intoxication. She ended up pleading guilty last July to three charges of battery, trespass and disorderly intoxication, avoiding jail time. As a result of the plea deal, she was put on one year of probation, part of which requires her to perform 50 hours of community service, attend two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week and attend a Victim Impact Class by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. In addition, the reality star is subjected to random drug and alcohol testing and has to remain clean throughout her probation.
According to court documents obtained by ET, de Lesseps violated her probation by testing positive on April 21 for presence of alcohol as evidenced by a failed remote breath test on a breathalyzer test administered by an agent with the New York County District Attorney. She then admitted to her New York probation officer that she drank two glasses of mimosas after a performance in Chicago. The court documents also state that she failed to attend two AA meetings per week, and that since being placed on supervision, only a total of five AA meetings have been submitted to the state of Florida.
ET spoke to de Lesseps in April 2018, when she said that she was "self-medicating" prior to her December 2017 arrest in response to her divorce from Tom D'Agostino.
"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," she said at the time. "Right now, I'm just not into drinking, because I feel so much happier without it."
"So, that's when I decided to go to rehab and address the issues I was having in my life, because I just felt like it was an out-of-control moment for me, and I don't like to be out of control," she continued about checking herself into rehab shortly following 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."
But in July 2018, she checked herself into rehab for a second time, following her completion of her first stint in rehab that January.
ET last spoke to de Lesseps in March, when she candidly talked about her sobriety, as well as her successful second act as a cabaret singer, selling out historic venues during her “Countess and Friends” tour.
"I'm just over six months sober, almost seven months," she said. "I continue to make that the most important thing in my life because it is, and I'm feeling really good and I'm doing really well. So, I'm happy."
"I take it day by day," she continued. "It's not always easy. It's a struggle, but I take it day by day. Sobriety is important to me. It changes everything for me in terms of my happiness and living my best life."
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