RHOBH’s Amanda Frances Breaks Silence on Past DUI and Arrest

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills newcomer Amanda Frances spoke candidly about her past DUI, which occurred “nearly 10 years ago” in 2016.

“It was expunged,” she said of her legal issue during an interview on Access Hollywood’s “Housewives Nightcap” podcast on Friday, January 30, revealing what led up to her now-dismissed Driving Under the Influence charge.

“I didn’t leave the parking space,” Amanda, 41, explained. “I attempted to move my car out of a parking lot.” The Bravo personality noted there was a gate and she didn’t want her car to be stuck behind it.

“And a guy who had been hitting on me all night and flirting with me and trying to get my attention was like ‘you shouldn’t drive…’ And I was like, ‘I’m just trying to move my car.’ Anyway, I was blocked in. I couldn’t move my car. I had cars on all sides of me. I couldn’t get out so I called an Uber,” she added. “I stepped into the street and as I was reaching for the door handle of the Uber, a cop tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘That guy says you were drinking and driving.’ I said, ‘I tried to move my car.’ I was honest, I had nothing to hide.”

The officer ultimately arrested Amanda after she admitted to trying to move her car while allegedly under the influence.

During her interview, Amanda also reflected on her past two-year involvement with a church that she described as “highly controlling” and “very manipulative,” noting that the religious organization fit the description of a cult.

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Don’t expect things between Dorit Kemsley and Bravo newbie Amanda Frances to get better after tonight’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills episode. “We don’t recover,” Amanda, 41, told Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the Thursday, January 22, episode of RHOBH. “And the thing is, we could have.” This week’s episode of RHOBH season 15 shows […]

The reality star said she launched a blog at the same time as her business venture. Her very first entry in October 2015 was detailing her cult experience and how she reconciled with her decision to join when the signs were there. (Amanda is a female empowerment coach and she penned the bestselling book Rich as F*ck, published in December 2020. She also teaches online courses about financial planning and hosts the “And She Rises” podcast.)

“My whole life, I’ve written about whatever was real and true for me,” she explained about her blog post.

Amanda shed more light on her experience in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly while promoting RHOBH’s 15th season.

“I have two bible school degrees. I have a ministry training degree, and then my bachelor’s degree is also from a religious university,” she said. “Between ministry training school and bachelor’s, I was, for two years, very highly involved in a church that I consider to be a cult.”

She continued, “It fits all the criteria for a cult. It fits all the criteria for religious abuse. That was what it was for me.”

Amanda’s costar Dorit Kemsley mentioned her viral blog post while grabbing dinner with Kyle Richards and Bozoma Saint John on the Thursday, January 29, episode.

“It was never a secret,” Amanda pointed out to Us. “The cult story isn’t a secret. Everyone in my audience, in my community, women in my courses, have known this story forever. So, when she’s pulling it up like it’s dirt, it’s very weird to me. Because it’s not dirt.”