Scheana Shay Doesn't Regret Opening Up About Her Hubby's Substance Abuse Issues
"If we can help people on our show, that's the best thing," the #PumpRules SURver said.
This season of Vanderpump Rules hasn't been easy for Scheana Shay and her husband Mike Shay. Not far into their marriage, Shay revealed that he struggled with substance abuse, which the couple bravely opened up about on the show.
However, when you put yourself out there like that, you have to be prepared for the comments — both positive and negative — that are going to come back to you. Scheana learned that the hard way when she came under scrutiny for some of what she said regarding Shay's substance abuse and treatment, including that she would never date anyone who was sober, which Scheana told The Daily Dish referred to the time she dated an actor fresh out of rehab when she was 22 years old, not Shay.
To those who have criticized Scheana during this difficult time, she says that they should know the full story before they judge her. "There were a couple things that I said that were publicly taken so out of context because you didn't get the whole story," Scheana told The Daily Dish. "When you just hear one ignorant comment without getting the backstory or hearing the end of the story, it's frustrating. So I've just chosen on episodes that I know now I'm gonna get sh** for that, I just stay off social media."
Scheana said she also finds it frustrating that viewers think that Shay is still struggling with the same issues today as he discussed on Vanderpump Rules this season, which was shot many months before it aired. She said she first found out about Shay's problem in December 2014, and he stopped using that day. Around the time this season of Vanderpump Rules began filming in June 2015, two of Shay's family members suddenly passed away. This made Scheana concerned that Shay would start using again to cope with the pain, but he didn't. "That was nothing I needed to be worried about. He's been extremely strong. He's been doing amazing. He hasn't drank for longer than I can count now. He's doing awesome," she said. "It's just frustrating in November to see something that was filmed so many months ago. People are like, 'Oh, dude. You need rehab. You need to do this. You need the Suboxone or whatever.' I'm like, no, he's been good for almost a year."
Scheana actually intended to keep Shay's substance abuse issues private, only telling some of her friends and his older brother at first. However, Scheana said she's now glad she and Shay shared their issues on the show. "This was something I felt like if we put this out there, if we can help one person struggling with addiction, our job's done. Vanderpump Rules isn't a serious show that deals with these kind of issues. It's like, who slept with who, who's fighting with who, and this was something I felt like even makes our show more real," she said. "It was really sad and really heartwarming at the same time to see how many people we actually touched by just putting our story out there. And I was like, 'See? It's not all bad.' If we can help people on our show, that's the best thing."
When The Daily Dish last caught up with Scheana, she cleared up some more controversial comments she made about her husband's struggle with substance abuse, which you can watch in the clip, below.
