Season 16, Episode 5
Kristie
Age: 31
Location: Macedon, New York
Addiction: Alcohol, inhalants (duster)
Official Synopsis: Kristie dreamed of being a museum curator and was getting her masters degree at Johns Hopkins University. But a childhood diagnosis of OCD caused by anxiety, worsened and caused her to drop out of school and begin to self medicate with alcohol. Though she married three years ago, her addiction ultimately spiraled out of control to include a large mix of drugs and huffing. She’s been admitted to the hospital several times this year alone and after her husband divorced her, Kristie hit rock bottom and now her family fears that without help, she will soon die. Ken Seeley is Kristie’s Interventionist.
Date Aired: Dec 2016
Interventionist: Ken
This was an important episode because it shows how people with mental illnesses (in this case OCD) often turn to alcohol or drugs to self-medicate and help themselves cope. And it hopefully can serve as a wake-up call to governments and public agencies that we need to reform the way we deal with mentally ill people in this country. We need more state-sponsored psychiatric hospitals, more social services for the mentally ill and provide better access to medications to treat mental illness.
Not to reply to jewellery but I’m commenting on this show with Kristie. I find it oddly cold how nobody commented on her verbal abuse to her mother! I HATE ALCOHOL for reasons such as this. Alcoholics blame everyone but them. It’s so sommonly seen even in my own life. “Don’t control them” your controlling, yeah wait in til they bash there head in by falling or get in there car to drive drunk. This is why there controlled. THEY cause the ambulance to come,the police to come. I see a beautiful women in Kristie but I also see a side of her that ishe I’ll and wants everyone to laugh at her jokes,meanwhile an hr. Passes at her jokes and she’s verbally assaulting you! My point is she has a bit of mental illness and she needs to nuture herself. Not just for her,but for god and her parents whom love her. She looked her best in FL…to bad she didn’t stay and grow from there!
I was in long term inpatient and a halfway house with kristie. she is currently looking and doing amazing and one of the most beautiful, kind and loving people I know. she is extremely happy back at home, and doing very well.
Yay! Thank you and good luck to you, too!
Thanks for your thoughtfulness Carol. When Kristie has been drinking she does become extremely verbally abusive, but always apologizes afterwards. I know that’s no excuse. And yes, She has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses for which she has been receiving help for, for the past probably 10 years to no avail😢 When she is healthy, she is the sweetest, kindest, most generous young lady in the world. She hates the control that alcohol has over her life, but she continues to fight strong.
While I wouldn’t use that vulgar name, I too was wondering where the sister was coming from. It was very apparent that the sister wanted to deflect blame from her parents to Kristie’s friend.
I was very relieved that Ken talked the friend (I think her name was Hillary?) into coming back in. I’m not sure I would have done the same in the face of such hostility — especially since the sister wasn’t presented in any of the earlier parts. Perhaps there was a reason for that.
I agree with Janelle. The problems of mental health have fallen to families and law enforcement. The former lacks the skills to deal and the latter only use force. There has to be a way to help. If only the psychiatric community would step up and demand that this population — whether wealthy or poor — be helped — if just to help us all.
Probably not going to happen in the near future unfortunately.
Nope, probably not. President Obama didn’t think it was important enough to address, and neither did his predecessors G.W. Bush, Clinton, G.H.W. Bush, Reagan, Carter, etc.
BTW, your subtle dig at Trump in the last sentence wasn’t so subtle…I saw right through it.
Actually, the reduction of state sponsored support for families with mentally ill family members started with President Reagan. But for him, this television show would probably not exist.
Many — most –of the people this tv program exploits — need the help that existed before Reagan.
I would argue that because President Obama put so many LGBQ issues at the forefront that your including him in your criticism is unwarranted.
Lordy, if you saw right through THAT “dig at Trump,” it really must have rung true then…..huh?
I won’t hold my breath waiting for Trump to lift one finger to aid in the mental health/substance abuse crisis in this country. I do hope I’m wrong…but politicians of a certainnnn variety have a funny way of equating any government initiative with the “socialism” boogeyman.
Four years later, and this comment string is unbelievably prosaic. Police are indeed too quick to use force when it comes to responding to people, and those struggling with mental accessibility needs are no exception. And Trump has indeed made mental health significantly worse.
That “subtle dig” at Trump was well-deserved, even back then, and it’s absolutely on point now.
Hi, just wanted to reply to your comment regarding Kristie’s sister Kate and her friend Hillary. Kristie and Hillary are no longer friends, nor have they been since Kristie entered rehab and for very good reason!! I can’t share the story due to legalities, but Hillary was an extremely bad influence on Kristie. When Kristie left the house with Hillary, she was straight, when she was dumped off by Hillsry, she was higher than a kite!!!! Hillary wanted her 15 minutes of fame!! What good friend would have taped another going to the bathroom on a car and send it in knowing the nation would see it?? Hillary is long gone thank God, but her sister Kate is still by her side!!!
Hi Mary,
I’m happy to hear that Kristie is doing well. I had such a bad feeling about her “friend” Hillary and I guess you just proved to me I was right. There was just something about her that made me feel like she wasn’t really into this for Kristie’s sake but for her own personal motives. She came off that way to me, anyway. Thanks for the updates on Kristie and keep them coming….she has a lot of people rooting for her!!!!
Annette, it’s clear that you are not in the camp of helping.
Dizzy, I can’t believe that you let that derogatory term get another life here.
While Janelle worries over imagined insults to a man, the real insult to all women stays.
Oops, missed that one. Hey everyone, comments with derogatory terms will be deleted so don’t do that.
It has hard to get a good read on Kristie because she was so intoxicated for a lot of the show, but I nonetheless got the sense that she felt a lot of disappointment in herself & anxiety about facing both her past and the future….regrets about where she ended up, anxiety about facing the hole she may feel she dug for herself.
As a person with anxiety issues…and some more moderate OCD & addiction ones as well, I could just be projecting here. Either way, I hope Kristie continues on the road to recovery and finds peace.
Going to the bathroom on a car was right up there with anally injecting heroin
How do we find out how she’s doing now? Back to NY AMA scares me…
I saw on her Facebook she did go back to New York but got her 9 month sobriety chip in May so looks like she’s doing well. Her sobriety and recovery comes up pretty frequently on her feed and she looks amazing 🙂
Thank you for the update, I’m so glad to see she’s still sober!
Hi Misha, Kristie is doing very well. She did however, have one setback, but is recovering quite nicely. Thank you
How is Kristie now? I hope she didn’t go back to New York. Hang in there girl!
See my comment above!
Hi, it’s me Kristie. I appreciate the support from some of you. I did go back to NY but I’m doing amazing. I’ll have one year in a week or so. I am so not the person in my episode. I can’t even believe some of the things I said\did, omg!
Hi Kristie
I just watched your episode and was inspired by your courage.
I am so pleased to see you are doing well.
I know how hard it is to live with mental illness, my anxiety drove my to drugs and alcohol at my worst times. It was so great to see an episode of intervention tackling this issue.
All the best!
Keep it up. I want to see you in another 5 or 6 years telling us all about your success since then.
God Bless you Kristie; stay strong and my prayers for you and your family!!
Oh my goodness thank you for the update! I know I’m a stranger, but I’m pulling for you. Stay strong and thank you so much for being an inspiration.
Kristie, I apologize for statements I made about Hilary further on down the thread.. I really do…I’m so glad you’re happy and that you’re approaching each day substance free.
Congrats Kristie! I’m praying for you everyday! Sobriety looks great on you
Your story is an amazing journey, Kristie. Thank you for sharing. May you hold The Promises near your heart always. ????????❤️
Woo hoo! That is so amazing Kristie bless you and try to keep it up 🖤
I wish I could post a picture for everyone!! Kristie truly looks amazing!!!!!!!
Would love to see a pic of her. She looked fantastic at the end of her episode! Maybe Intervention will do an update on her (like they do with many “alumni”). I read they’re going back to the original format (after the Atlanta “heroin triangle” of season 18, which was an interesting twist IMO). I imagine they’ll bring back the Skype conversations (interventionist/recovering addict).
On a slightly different subject, Kristie appears one of the very few individuals who don’t smoke cigarettes. I believe Allison (season 4) is also a non-smoker. But there are very few of them it seems. It interests me because I’m a recovering oxycodone addict, and have never touched a cigarette. Are there any others?
Kristie was a smoker, though not heavy. She has used nicotine gum for years. She will smoke a cigarette on occasion but truly was never one of her addictions.
Is there a way to start a separate discussion on this? I thought it was strange how when I was going through rehab from opioids 10 years ago, I was one of TWO (120 were there) who never touched a cigarette. From Intervention, I can only think of Allison (duster, season 4) and John Carstens (diabetic, RIP). I thought Kristie was also a non smoker because she was never shown with a cigarette. Maybe the bulimics? Seems like I’m the only hardcore recovering opioid/alcohol/benzo/meth/barbiturate, etc addict who never smoked cigarettes. Sorry, it just intrigues me…
I think it’s because smoking is an addiction that most people pick up at a very early age and it’s usually the first thing that they try which either sticks with them or doesn’t. As we move on in age, we pick up other addictions and just add on to the ones we started out with and continue with.
I am a recovering IV heroin addict and I’ve never smoked either. Never had the desire. It was odd because out of the numerous rehabs I went to (yeah I’m someone who needed to go to like 10 before sobriety stuck) there were usually only one or two other addicts who didn’t smoke. Best of luck to you!
MEEEEEE! I am a recovering addict from prescription pain killers after several sports related injuries. I will have 5 years clean on Sep. 2nd 2018. I have never smoked either. When I was first in recovery I was the only person in the entire group who did not smoke. you are right it is very rare to see a non-smoking addict. I have always found that very interesting as well. congrats on your sobriety!
Thank you so much! Great to know there are other (albeit few) addicts who hate cigarettes. Congrats on your sobriety as well! I will be 10 years clean from opioids in September. NEVER want to deal with that again…
MEEEEEE! It is very rare to see an addict who does not smoke. I will be 5 years clean from prescription painkillers on September 2nd, 2018. When I was in treatment I was the only one (out of 30) who did not smoke. I have always found that strange but, I guess like a lot of people said its just another addiction. congrats on your sobriety!
Kristie I am so glad to hear you are doing so well. congrats!
Me too! I’m just over 8 months sober and I’ve never been a smoker.
I was also addicted to oxy (and alcohol) and I never smoked either.
<—–Drank heavily for many years and ended up being reliant on Oxycotin for many years……..have never smoked a cigarette in my lifetime…..
I truly hope you are doing well Kristie. Your family was very brave and so were you. I hope you all have gotten the help you need to heal, it was so sad to see so much pain. You sound extraordinary, I bet you are kicking butt out there and have a bright future ahead. Keep working at this, it’s a journey, we all have to work on ourselves every day. Best of luck to you and your family.
Kate (Kristie’s sister) said something like “She’s a nurse, she would know” during the pre-intervention in response to Hillary mentioning the risks of alcohol withdrawal. The show portrayed Hillary as being a close, loyal friend to Kristie, driving her to her court hearing and praying with her before she went in, also refusing to buy her alcohol during the drive there, only to buy her a bottle of vodka later. I can absolutely see where Mary’s coming from, saying that Hillary is both good and toxic to Kristie. I’m guessing that a lot (if not most) of the Kate footage was cut, because her only “big scene” is the pre-intervention, and she comes across as nasty and condescending, when we probably don’t know what was going on (just how enabling Hillary really was, Kate’s experiences with everyone, etc). This is an episode I’d love to see what was cut, because it looks like the whole story was glossed over rather poorly.
And if Hillary is a nurse, I don’t know why she’d enable at all, unless she was easily manipulated or thought withdrawal was too dangerous for her close friend. And if they were such good friends, why didn’t she stick around after Kristie got sober?
Michilines, Kristie has not spoken to Hillary since she came home from Florida. She realized the negativity that Hillary brought to her life. Kristie’s sister Katie, was doing nothing less than protecting her younger sister. Hillary also allowed Kristie to buy duster in her presence and use it at her home and filmed her while doing it!!!! Hillary was a nurse, I wonder how her employer would feel about this. Hillary wanted her 15 minutes of fame and did so by dramatizing her friendship with Kristie. Thank God Kristie is no longer in touch with that “devil.”
Could HIllary lose her nursing license for videotaping Kristie like that?
There are plenty of nurses who are crazy, alcoholics and drug addicts and enablers. Robin Norwood mentions this in her book, Women Who Love Too Much. Women who themselves are codependent/enablers are attracted to “helping” professions. And there’s a high instance of alcohol and drug abuse in this profession. I met soooooo many nurses/former nurses in AA over the years. One women’s meeting was around 70% nurses…seriously.
Here’s here Facebook looks like she’s doing good still sober
https://www.facebook.com/kristie.brongo
Anybody feel like Hillary was in love with Kristie? And her enabling kept her needing her? Maybe not, just a thought.
And a good thought it is. A lot of people saw it that way Jordy, however both were married. Hillary just needed to be a mother figure to someone, but clearly did a very, very poor job with Kristie!
I thought Kristie was divorced…? Did I miss something?
Hi it’s Kristie. Yes, I am divorced and with a really great guy now. I can’t say much for Hilary as I have not talked to her in 2 years. However, last I knew she was married . Not sure anymore though.
Yeah – Hillary was crushing on Kristie BIG TIME, and I think the family knew it. They may not have minded if Hillary wasn’t enabling Kristie so much.
Hilary’s Facebook.
https://m.facebook.com/hillary.laplant?fref=nf
It’s gonzo
The link doesn’t work for me.
i reeeeeeeally disliked the way kristie spoke to her mother, SO abusively. don’t get me wrong, i know ALL too well how alcohol can make people volatile and/or violent when they normally wouldn’t be. also, her “friend” hillary was the WORST! kristie is IN court, her case hasn’t even been called yet, and hillary suggests that she go buy liquor and even gives her money for it. wth, what kind of friend is that?? i also thought hillary had a crush on kristie. i think she was trying to keep kristie dependent on her. aaaanyway, kristie looks great. married with kids. good for her!
I applauded Kate for calling out Hillary during the pre intervention. That woman is DANGEROUS and should ABSOLUTELY lose her nursing license… Estranged friendship now or not.
I’m glad to hear Kristie is well in recovery.
Hey Erin,
Thanks For supporting Kate, she has been a strong and positive support for Kristie. Kristie has not had contact with Hillary for five years now, as she also saw her as dangerous to her recovery. Kristie has had a few, very minor, quick setbacks, but has got right back to recovery mode. She is coming up on a full year again. Addiction is a life long fight, but she is winning the battle. She looks gorgeous and healthy. She is involved in church activities and has started a jewelry business. Check her out on Etsy.>> Birdiesbeads0 That’s a zero, not an o
Hi Mary, please let your daughter know if she wants to be a museum professional, she shouldn’t misspell Curatorial (her position??) on her facebook. Happy to hear she’s doing well.
I couldn’t believe a registered nurse sat there and pretended she didn’t know whether or not an alcoholic can die from withdrawl! Super fishy. It seemed like she was playing some role of an innocent sweet lady.
I posted this comment on Allison and Matthew’s page since it has to do with the same addiction.
Although I know people are addicted to duster, it’s not widely spoken about nor is getting treatment for it. It’s legal, easily available, in-expensive (based on how much you do and compared to illegal drugs) and that’s what makes it even more dangerous in a way. Big Brother (the government) got involved when OTC meds were being used to make Meth. So now today, if I want a certain kind of Claritan, I have to ask the pharmacist and give them my driver’s license so they can send it to Big Brother. But, I can walk into the same store (like Walmart for example) and buy a case of duster everyday. Please make it make sense????
A couple of years ago, a woman from the next town over from me was arrested THREE times in ONE DAY over being high on duster! She’s been arrested many times before when high like a kite due to car accidents, trying to steal a tractor trailer, jumped in a creek to getaway, and so much more that I can name but won’t. You just can’t make this shit up. I wouldn’t have believed it if it wasn’t for the fact that it happened in my town and was all over the news because it was so shocking. For those who can’t believe it, I’ll give you the link on this story because I wouldn’t believe me either if I didn’t see proof.
Please note: I am NOT posting this story to shame this woman but to actually bring awareness on how serious of a problem this can be. Since her name and record is public knowledge, is why I see nothing wrong with posting this. Again, it’s not to publicly shame her but to bring awareness.
Here’s one of many arrests and public knowledge:
https://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/2014/06/long_valley_woman_arrested_thr.html
I haven’t checked recently on how she’s doing but as of last time that I did, she wasn’t doing too good. I’m hoping she’s well now because she does have a child.
Hey dizzy ,
Love the site bro it’s so cool to read up on those featured, updates, and other viewers thoughts while watching the show!
For real the site is amazing you made the world a better place lol. One of the parts I love best is the “what’s memorable” section, and noticed kristie doesn’t have one? Wondering why!
Thanks so much
One of my favorite episodes, so glad to hear she’s doing well. I wish she would open her Etsy shop back up. I love me some handmade baubles.
– “So if you want to kill yourself, you’re gonna have to do it from a homeless shelter.”
– “Who- ARE you?”
– “I’m Ken, I already introduced myself.”
Ken is so funny so times, for real.
Kristie, no idea if you still come here and look at comments, but maybe you do. I loved your episode. you reminded me so much of a dear friend of mine from upstate new York and I could see what your friend meant when she said that you are just so fun and great to be around. I feel so inspired by your story. keep fighting the good fight ❤️
Kristie posted an update on Facebook October 3, 2022: “ Hi guys, I’m Kristie. I was on the show years ago. They focused on my addiction and mental health together. OCD mainly. I just thought I’d check in. Unfortunately, I’m not the perfect success story and the past years have been full of relapses. As a matter of fact, I was just released from the hospital earlier this week. However, I am sober NOW, and that’s all that matters. If you fall down, please just get back up. Recovery really is possible and I feel it this time 😁❤️”
You inspire me Kristie ❤️
I’m still struggling too, alcohol is so hard to kick
I can’t believe her family would sell her a car days after she got into a drunk driving accident. She didn’t seem coherent at any point of this episode, so I have a hard time believing that any story she told about the accident or about promising to never drink again was convincing. Who knows.
Hillary weirds me out. She let her “best friend” shit on a stranger’s car just to get a video of it…? That’s such a low point for this woman’s life I don’t think any real friend would let that air on TV.
I So I justt watched the episode again and I know Kristie very well and sober she is an amazing, smart and creative woman. She came to see me 2 months ago and was drinking again and it broke my heart because just like the r est of us alcoholics and addicts we are different people when we are using. A few weeks later she said she was sober again and I hope she still is. She helped me want to be sober and in a few days I will have a year and a lot of that is thanks to her whether she knows that or not I don’t know so I just want to say thank you Kristie. for inspiring me to get sober. My. life is so much better now without all the chaos that comes with drinking.Hope you are doing good now Kristie. Sobriety is so much better and I know that you know that. Be strong I know you can do it.