Gina Kirschenheiternow knows thatdriving under the influence of alcoholwas a bad decision, and she revealed toPEOPLE Nowthat her three children know it too.
When asked what she’s said about being caught drinking and driving to her three children — Nicholas, 7, Sienna, 5, and Luca, 4 — theReal Housewives of Orange Countystar, 35, admitted that she’s “honest” with them.
“I’m very open about it,” she said on Wednesday, explaining that she used her experience to illustrate a lesson about actions and consequences.
“‘Mommy made a very bad decision, and you know, just like if you make a bad choice, you have consequences to your actions,'” she recalled. “‘And mommy made a bad decision, and now this is a consequence, that I… cannot drive my car right now.'”
When they asked her why, Kirschenheiter said, “I’m honest, and I’m like, ‘Well, you know how mommy will drink wine?’ And they said yes. I said, ‘Mommy drank wine and she drove, and you’re not allowed to do that. And I will never do that again.'”
“This is the consequence,” she continued, adding that she now walks her three children to and from school every day since she does not currently have a driver’s license.
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“They’re pretty receptive to it. They’re pretty sharp, my kids, so they know,” she said.
Despite Kirschenheiter doing her best to learn from her mistakes, the star admitted that there are still moments of embarrassment.
“The only thing is, the other day I know Nick told somebody like, ‘Oh yeah, Mommy can’t drive because she drank wine,'” she revealed.
“And I was like, ‘Oh my god!'” theRHOCstar continued, covering her face with her hands. “But it is what it is, I did it.”
In February, Kirschenheiter wasarrested for driving under the influenceearly in the morning in Rancho Santa Margarita, California.
In a statement at the time, the reality star told PEOPLE, “I made a very bad choice the other night after a mom’s night out.”
“I am extremely disappointed in myself and regret my actions wholeheartedly,” the statement continued. “I have learned a valuable lesson and hope to show you all that this one incident does not define me.”
In her interview withPEOPLE Now, she said that while she does “have regrets” about her actions, she’s trying to find a silver lining.
“But honestly, I look at it like okay I feel fortunate that I have this show and that I have a platform to show people you know, you can make mistakes, but you can pick yourself up and it’s not about bad decisions, but it’s about how you handle, you know, the fall out,” Kirschenheiter added.
source: people.com
