Countess Luann was drinking 7 drinks a day before arrest and rehab

The Real Housewives of New York City star Countess Luann de Lesseps had a wake up call the day before Christmas when she was arrested in Palm Beach, Florida after she drunkenly hooked up with a man in the wrong hotel room and later got into an altercation with police when asked to leave. She has since been to a treatment facility and seems to now have her life back on track as she has stopped drinking and smoking, and is focused on her spiritual and physical health.

In a new interview with People, Luann reveals just how bad things had gotten late last year, including her estimate that she was averaging seven drinks a day. “I would start with a martini and maybe have two martinis, and then get into the wine at dinner,” she reflects. “Then I’d have a little bit of vodka soda going out.”

As if often the case, Luan began to build up a tolerance to the effects she was looking for. “I would have the hair of the dog drink the next day, and drink more, and it didn’t feel good,” she says. “Alcohol just stopped working for me.”

Despite alcohol not having the same effect, Luann was still going to it heavily — including her ill-fated Christmas celebration at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach.

Less than a week after her arrest, Luann checked herself into a treatment facility, and she remained there for three weeks before checking out in January.

Luann says she has not resumed drinking and has also stopped smoking. As her followers on social media are well aware, she is heavily focused on meditation and yoga — and her more savvy followers might have noticed she has lost eight pounds since leaving rehab.

So are the Countess’ drinking days over for good? That’s a pretty tall order for the Housewives franchise most synonymous with imbibing. “All I know is that not drinking works for me right now,” she says. “Will I drink again? I don’t know. I miss good red wine. Not to say that I’ll never have good red wine again.”

The openness to drinking again may concern those familiar with alcoholism — but The Countess is not so sure that she qualifies. “Everybody around me says, ‘Luann, you’re not an alcoholic.’ I don’t know if I am or not,” she says.

You can see the sober-for-now Luann on Bravo twice tonight — both during The Real Housewives of New York City at 9/8c and on Watch What Happens: Live! at 11/10c on Bravo.