Pretty Wild's Alexis Neiers Is a Doula Now

Nancy Jo, this is Bobby Finger calling. I’m calling to let you know that Alexis Neiers is now a wife, mother, and practicing doula. In an interview with Ravishly, Neiers discussed her struggles with addiction, memories of Pretty Wild, the inaccuracies of The Bling Ring, and why she decided to begin a new career helping women give birth.

MOM, STOP IT!!!!!

Nancy Jo, this is Bobby Finger calling. I’m calling to let you know that Alexis Neiers thinks being the subject of E!’s Pretty Wild and The Bling Ring was “the best thing that’s ever happened to her.” Being in the public eye forced her to confront her problems head on in a way she likely would have avoided otherwise.

At the time I was filming…my addiction skyrocketed because of the amount of funds I had to use and party. So, I went from smoking one Oxycontin a day, to smoking 20 a day with my sister. My disease progressed and I was in no way capable of fighting the case. I was incapable of growing up, but it just wasn’t because of the drugs, it was because of deep-rooted trauma. I was masking that for so many years.

After her arrest, she was forced to detox, “which was horrible.”

MOM EVERY TIME YOU SCREAM I HAVE TO WRITE THIS AGAIN!!!!!

Nancy Jo, this is Bobby Finger calling. I’m calling to let you know that The Bling Ring’s depiction of Neiers’ life was “false and bullshit.” It didn’t deal with what Neiers says was the source of their problems – their addiction to drugs and alcohol.

I’m not saying that it’s an excuse for bad behavior, but I’m saying it plays a part. The movie didn’t give an honest depiction of what our lives were really like. I wasn’t that glamorous. I was chasing around drug dealers, smoking heroin. I lived in the Best Western on Franklin and Vine, while pretending to live in this huge glamorous house.

After going into recovery, she married a Canadian businessman named Evan Haines in 2012, and gave birth to their first child, Elizabeth, in 2013. The 12-step process, she says, has improved nearly every aspect of her life.

Getting into recovery made me a woman. I had no life and coping skills at all. Taking an honest look at my life, working the steps, and doing therapy made me into a better person. The tools I now have definitely make me a better mother. It’s awareness. 12 step programs are amazing and the most solid foundation you can give yourself.

MOM STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!

Nancy Jo, this is Bobby Finger calling. I’m calling to let you know that Neiers chose to become a drug counselor after watching “so many” of her friends die over the years.

I was sentenced to a year of treatment at SOBA recovery. The owner told me I needed to do something…As I did more and more work, I wanted to be the voice for all the addicts who didn’t have one. I want to educate families on addiction and about how the disease works.

But her work didn’t stop there. After being mistreated in the hospital before and after her C-section (she planned on having a natural birth, but wasn’t being “heard or acknowledged”), Neiers decided to “figure out how to help” other women in similar situations.

Knowledge is power and even though we have a 33% C-section rate, mothers are not fully informed. They don’t have full informed consent for most of the procedures that take place in the hospital…The way pregnant women are treated is a huge feminist issue that’s not talked about. Now I work with mommies to help them through the labor, delivery and pregnancy they desire to have.

But though Neiers is now a practicing doula, she doesn’t recommend natural childbirth for all pregnant women.

I like to call myself “the balanced doula.” I’m not against epidurals. I’m not against hospital births. But I am pro-informed consent and having full knowledge of alternatives.

So now you know how Alexis Neiers is doing, Nancy Jo. Despite being wrong about her Louboutin heels, you may have had a hand in giving her a happy ending. Isn’t that nice?