Season 11, Episode 7
Zeinah
Age: 24
Location: Bradenton, Florida
Addiction: Oxycodone, Xananx, Oxycontin
What’s memorable: What a messed up family she comes from. Her father pretty much ignored her once he had a son and now he outright considers her an investment gone bad. Also, the mother who writes books about being married to a muslim terrorist, and the creepy boyfriend. Wonder what happened to that guy? They don’t mention him after those couple of disturbing scenes. Also, Zeinah’s intervention is one of the most powerful I’ve seen. “I’m not scared of going to fucking rehab, it’s failing I’m scared of.”
Legacy Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3DQ6NLo0cE
Official Synopsis: Once a successful, outstanding student, Zeinah turned to drugs to deal with the drama-filled divorce between her Christian mother and Muslim father. After her husband overdosed, her drug use increased, and she lost custody of her daughter. Can Zeinah’s family forget their grudges and religious differences to come together and save her from her prescription pill death spiral?
Original Air Date: February 2012
Interventionist: Jeff
So in Nov. of 2009 she gets popped for child neglect along with her husband. He dies (from an OD?) in February of 2010. I’m guessing she’s gotten worse since then and the intervention show filmed in 2011 sometime.
She is still sober and is now a loving mother celebrating life
Her husband OD’d on pills last year and Zeinah spiralled out of control after that. I don’t know anything about the child neglect charges – don’t think that was mentioned in the episode.
It was, not long after her husband died.
Dizzy I posted (at the bottom of these comments) the link to the child neglect charges that both her and her husband were arrested for. But I am so very happy for her extreme success in sobriety since the day she left the intervention and went to treatment with not one relapse! I think she’s probably one of the most successful addicts on Intervention, in terms of her sobriety, her career in sobriety, & even her life!
Zeinah, you are the most beautiful young lady on earth.I hope and pray that you find happiness and success in this life. I cried watching your show. That’s not like me. GOD bless and always know that I’m pulling for you.
How is Zeinah now? Would like to talk with her.Thanks
I know her mom loves her but I detest the parents/siblings that try to flip the intervention process to solely make it all about them . There was a tiny part of me that wondered if her mom did this to get HER face on tv to advance her book/movie plans . I know there were abandonment issues with Zeinah towards her father but he came across as a very loving man . Not some evil extremist creep that the mom painted .
I can not help but feel like her mom’s drama issues helped mess this woman up in some manner too .
I agree. With the exception of the pre-intervention and the intervention itself, every scene with the mom felt like a book plug on a talk show.
Zeinah Im so glad your doing great. Your Dad seems like a intelligent loving man, who is NOT a member of ISIS like your mom says. If I were you I would write a book about My insane mother who belongs in Arkham Asylum, j/k. You would sell way more than her. But keep up the great work.
your story is one I can relate to.
Here is an update on Zeinah via social media. According to her Facebook page (https://m.facebook.com/zeinah.waliaghagollsneider?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fzeinah.waliaghagollsneider) she is still clean and in contact with her daughter on a regular basis. She’s also in college! So good to hear of a success story!
Looks like she’s happily married now! Still sober & doing very well. Best wishes, congratulations, and wishing her a lifetime of happiness
Zeinah’s mother passed away in 2013. It seems they made peace, so she might appreciate the general public laying off the “crazy” remarks. I’m sure she did the best she could as a mother.
One day at a time Z,, just for today
I am so happy to hear she is in college and doing great!! Way to go! Love to hear the success stories, what a strong woman to have put up with that kind of mother. Wow her mother was in a category of her own, I hope Zeniah made her peace with her. Blessings to you Zeniah!
In episode 205 (Sierra), the show posted an update of Zeinah Skyping with her interventionist, Jeff. She is clean, in college, and a mom. Congratulations to her for her sobriety.
Just saw this update embedded in the Sierra episode. Zeinah looks amazing – so glad to see she is doing well.
She now works as a specialist at a rehab! So happy for her!
My daughter went to school with Zeinah. I knew her mother, not her father. Perhaps a misguided mom but she did love her children. Zeinah was always a popular intelligent girl destined for greatness. So glad to see she is living up to all the potential she has.
Her and her husband (who she met while at Hope by the Sea) work at an outpatient center for addiction in CA: https://www.restorationrecoverycenter.com/rehabilitation-meet-our-staff . They also have a daughter together.
Just checked her Facebook, she is still sober and appears to be very happy!
Wow she works and helped start a rehab center! Now there is some good results of sobriety. God bless you girl and your beautiful family.
https://restorationrecoverycenter.com/about-us/
This was a great episode covering all sorts of interesting issues. It is awesome to see she is now director of admissions at a rehab place and looks to be doing great. There is even more back story than we got to see on the episode, you can read about it here: https://blog.lionrockrecovery.com/index.php/2020/04/22/from-the-podcast-zeinah-estrada-finding-balance-and-learning-to-recalibrate/
I am sorry for the mother. She tried to save her daughter but her father continually blamed the mother for being a victim. Even the daughter blamed the mother. She was very much like her father. You had to agree with the one charge. It seems the belief in the Trinity influences us more than we understand. How 3 different entities can work as one. Democracy. Everybody has a say. I would love to hear other opinions.
I found Zeinah on IG: zenmaster86. She looks so happy and healthy!! Her oldest daughter is a teenager now, and they seem to have reconnected! It looks like she’s remarried now with 2 more little girls!! Such an amazing transformation considering how dysfunctional her family was!! God bless her! It’s truly amazing!
i’ve always loved intervention from the very first episode i saw. but ever since i subscribed to philo, i wanted to do it right. i started streaming from S1E1 over a week ago and have binge-watched as much as i could fit into my schedule (even watching ones i’ve already seen). so many heart-wrenching episodes, and i’ve had sympathy for most of the addicts. *but this is the first one i felt compelled to comment on. there is just _something_ about this one. maybe i’m able to draw parallels between her life and my own. i’m sure it doesn’t hurt that Zeinah is drop dead gorgeous. i wish the best for Zeinah and her family. i hope they all find true happiness in their lives.
I think this is the first episode of Intervention that I watched in its entirety when I started watching the show on antenna TV last year. And I’m pretty sure it’s the first one that I looked up and found on this site. Holy cow this is my absolute favorite episode. Zeinah is in my opinion, very likable even with her addiction and I found myself rooting for her from the jump. And her mother is just the mother of all mothers on this show, what a trip she was and the father too. There was just so much drama and intensity on this episode. My favorite part? That Zeinah is absolutely flourishing and thriving now that she was able to heal and move past her addiction. I’m just blown away by her success, and I hope she was able to heal the rifts with her family. I saw a comment that her mother passed, and no matter what her issues were, I hope she and Zeinah were able to find peace together beforehand. I will always be wishing Zeinah and her family continued health and success.
the dad’s speech was gripping.
Jeff was fantastic in this intervention. First time I’ve felt compelled to comment
Currently re-watching this episode. That mother was a piece of work. It was “all about her”, and the crocodile tears were disgusting. I’m so glad Zeinah is doing well, one of the best Intervention success stories!
Wow… the outcome of this case is until now the most surpsing for me (have watched s. 10 and 11). While watching it I thought she wouldn’t go to rehab and then I thought she would break up or has a relapse. Cause she really didn’t like anyone in her family, was so convinced that drugs made her life better which she found miserable. What a wonderful surprise to read that she eventuallly stayed sober and helps people with SUD now!
I was so pleasantly surprised at the Dad’s speech. He seemed like the type who wasn’t going to be able to move beyond “you disappointed me”…but then he really dug deep. What he said about not knowing true love until you have your first child – wow. I’m glad it seems like she is still doing well.
Zeinah & Aaron, her husband, who others have mentioned met at Hope by the Sea, actually are the founders and owners of Restoration Recovery House!! I do not know them, but they live in the same county that I live in here in California. She lives here with her husband and her daughter that was mentioned on the show and her youngest daughter. I just knew that Zeinah would be successful in her recovery, but it is amazing to see just how successful she is… She’s helping so many people on their path to recovery!! She looks like she is living a life full of happiness, love, and true sobriety! God bless Zeinah & her family!! 🙏🏼❤️
https://restorationrecoverycenter.com/about-us/
Click on the link, scroll down and read the bios of Zeinah & her husband Aaron. They both are truly amazing, passionate, and inspirational souls!! I also would suggest for you to read the bios on the entire team at Restoration Recovery, as they have personal, interesting, and unique stories. If you or a loved one is in need of addiction treatment, I would definitely look into Restoration Recovery Center in Auburn, California. 888-290-0925
Also, I hate to even say anything negative about Zeinah because she is such a likable person, but this is something related to her drug use in the past, and knowing she is now successful in sobriety and working in the recovery field, I think she would understand. As a recovering addict myself this show, and especially Zeinah’s episode, helps remind me what could happen if I were to relapse. According to the newspaper article, Zeinah and her husband Kevin were passed out from drugs and not waking up, and their daughter was outside crying and told a neighbor that she was afraid the house was going to burn down (because dinner have been burning on the stove) and her parents wouldn’t wake up. So the neighbor called the police and long story short they arrested both parents for child neglect. The article says that their daughter was placed in custody of relatives. If you read on, it also says that previously, the daughter saved the mother life when Zeinah was having a seizure and bleeding. Her daughter, ran to a school (that she did not herself attend) to ask for help. Zeinah’s little girl was so brave and smart to know what to do! I think it said she was only 4! So happy that things turned out so much better for her wonderful daughter & Zeinah!
https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/article34084344.html
This young girl was surrounded by such negativity her dad wanted her to he a super high achiever and her mother omg drama queen attention seeker I’m so glad this girl got sober through the love of her family and her inner strength and courage she is such a beautiful girl
I’m friends with Zeinah, we met in the program. She’s doing so well & is a glowing beacon of sobriety in our community.
i’ve seen this episode about three or four times, and i agree this is one of the best episodes in the entire series. her intervention was so incredibly moving – the father’s letter was amazing. considering how Middle Eastern cultures often push men to be stoic, the fact that he really committed to the process and was so emotional during the intervention really says a lot about his character. i’m sorry to hear her mother passed, and i hope they managed to repair their relationship before she died.
the best part of this is how Zeinah is absolutely THRIVING and helps run a treatment center now. she may actually be Intervention’s biggest success story!