“Mob Wives” star Renee Graziano said she nearly died after unknowingly using fentanyl, and said she had to learn how to walk all over again.
Graziano described her near-fatal incident in an emotional interview with Bunnie XO on the “Dumb Blonde” podcast. She explained that she asked a friend for drugs in 2023 and ended up with a bad batch that was laced with fentanyl. “I died in a restaurant, in Florida, I was dead,” Graziano said in a video clip teaser of Wednesday’s podcast, shared by TMZ. “Intubated for 3 days,” she said as she fought back the tears. “Nobody in my family came.”
Graziano explained that she had gone through the tragic death of her father, as well as a series of life challenges right before her near-fatal overdose. She said she reached a whole new low and reached out for a friend to get her some drugs.
“I just like, I lost my shit man, September 18 someone gave me a bag of fentanyl when it was supposed to be [cocaine],” she said.
The reality television star recalled one of her friends hooking her up with the drug dealer, and saying, “I vouch for him,” so she felt no reason for concern.
TV personality Renee Graziano attends Escape To Total Rewards at Gotham Hall on March 1, 2012 in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment
Graziano proceeded to take the drugs, and things quickly took a turn.
She had no idea there was fentanyl in the bag, and the situation became serious very quickly.
She went on to say she coded in a restaurant, and was rushed to the hospital, although it’s not yet clear who called for assistance when she needed it the most.
TV Personality Renee Graziano arrives at Intouch Weekly’s “ICONS & IDOLS Party” at FINALE Nightclub on August 25, 2013 in New York City. Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Intouch Weekly
Graziano was visibly emotional during the podcast, as she explained the harrowing ordeal.
“And I spent 9 days there, learning how to walk again,” she said, as she recalled her recovery period in the hospital.
As for the incident itself, Graziano admitted she couldn’t remember anything that happened. She doesn’t know if she took one line of the drugs, or if she used more than that. The details surrounding the actual incident have been wiped from her memory.
Renee Graziano of Mob Wives attends the Monster Energy SuperCross World Championship Race at MetLife Stadium on April 26, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Photo by Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images for Feld Entertainment
“I don’t remember anything,” she said on the podcast.
“3 days were wiped from my brain. I don’t know what happened at all. I don’t remember anything.”
Renee Graziano attends OK! Magazine’s “So Sexy” NY party at Marquee on May 28, 2014 in New York City. Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images
She went on to say, “they said I wasn’t gonna make it.” (RELATED: Jelly Roll Gives Emotional Testimony About Scourge Of Fentanyl Before Congress)
The ordeal made her realize she had to get clean, and she has since given up drugs altogether. Graziano entered treatment in November, just a few months after her overdose. She says she’s been clean and sober since then, according to TMZ.