The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais is reflecting on the “long way” she’s come with son Oliver Saunders following his past struggles with addiction.
“My relationship with Oliver right now is really good,” Garcelle, 58, said during the Tuesday, January 7 episode of RHOBH. “Oliver was in a really dark place over the years. I had all kinds of emotions, sometimes all in one day — fear, guilt.”
Garcelle admitted that she often wondered what she did “wrong” as a parent during the throes of her son’s addiction.
“I had to practice tough love,” she said of her relationship with her son during that time period. “I knew he was homeless, and I knew he was in a bad place, and I couldn’t do anything.”
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The Bravo star, who shares 32-year-old Oliver with ex-husband Daniel Saunders, teared up during Tuesday’s episode when remembering one particularly difficult moment involving her son.
“Years ago, I was at home [with] a girlfriend of mine. We were hanging out and it started getting late,” she said. “We heard a noise and I looked outside. I turned on the light and I saw it as Oliver.”
Garcelle continued, “It was Oliver in the body form, but it wasn’t Oliver. The way he acted, the way his eyes looked, the way he was so erratic.”
She said Oliver was attempting to get inside the pool house before she stopped him.
“This is my son that I’m not opening the door for,” Garcelle recalled through tears. “I watched him walk away and I didn’t take him in. I felt 1,000 pounds of guilt not letting him in.
The RHOBH star added, “This was the tough love that we had to do so that hopefully that’s the thing that changes things.”
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Oliver is the father of 4-year-old son Oliver Saunders Jr. (OJ), whom he shares with ex-wife Samantha Saunders. The proud dad is gearing up to welcome baby No. 2 with girlfriend Shantei Paranda.
Garcelle previously spoke about Oliver’s addiction during a 2020 episode of RHOBH.
“If we’re all going to be honest, I’m not a perfect parent,” she told her castmates at the time. “My son Oliver has dealt with addiction since he was in the fifth grade. We have been through so much. … I would never judge another parent. I feel, sometimes, that I’ve messed up because I was too lenient with him.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
