Alexis Christine Haines is an American podcaster and former television personality. She is most notable for her podcast Recovering From Reality. She was featured on E!'s reality series Pretty Wild with her mother, Andrea Arlington-Dunn, sister Gabby Neiers, and friend Tess Taylor.
Involvement in the "Bling Ring"
On November 16, 2009, Haines pleaded no contest to burglary charges stemming from her involvement with the Hollywood "Bling Ring" burglaries. The burglars had targeted the homes of celebrities including Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan, Rachel Bilson, and Paris Hilton. Alexis claimed to have been drunk during the burglary of Bloom's house, and "not sure what was going on". Fellow Bling Ring member Nick Prugo recalled a different version of events, saying that Alexis was fully aware a burglary was taking place, and is seen walking into the Bloom residence on security surveillance footage. A search of the Neiers household turned up a Marc Jacobs handbag belonging to Bilson and a Chanel necklace belonging to Lohan. Haines initially denied the items were stolen, but later pleaded no contest to a charge of burglary. On May 10, 2010, Haines pleaded no contest to a felony charge of first degree residential burglary of Orlando Bloom's home and was sentenced to 180 days in county jail, with three years' probation and a fine of $600,000. Haines began her sentence on June 24, 2010, and was released after serving one month of a six-month sentence. During the last five days of her sentence, she was in a cell next to Lindsay Lohan. She reported that she did not have any contact with Lohan during her brief time in jail and that Lohan did not cause any trouble. A film chronicling the events surrounding the Bling Ring, directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Emma Watson as a character based on Haines, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and was released nationwide on June 21, 2013.
''Pretty Wild''
On March 14, 2010, Pretty Wild premiered on E! network, a reality TV show based on the lives of Alexis, her unofficially adopted "sister" Tess Taylor, her younger biological sister Gabby Neiers, and their mother, Andrea Arlington, a former Playboy model. The show focused on the modeling careers of Alexis and Tess, as well as their LA "party lifestyle". The show was criticized for the girls' sexual antics and the seemingly bizarre behavior of the sisters and their mother. Shortly after filming the pilot episode, Alexis was arrested for her involvement in the "Bling Ring" robberies and the show ended up chronicling her arrest and eventual plea bargain and jail time. The show was not renewed for a second season.
After the airing of Pretty Wild, many unapproved images were released of Alexis and her costar Tess Taylor on the website thedirty.com. Although lawyers requested that the images, which portrayed the girls smoking bongs and what appeared to be heroin, be taken down, blogger Nik Richie of thedirty site declined. In December 2010 Alexis checked into the SOBA Recovery center in Malibu, California, after she was sentenced to one year of rehab following an arrest for possession of black tar heroin and a fake Florida I.D. Both were discovered when Neiers failed to check in with her probation officer, while on probation for her involvement in the Bling Ring, and officers paid her a visit and searched her residence. She was joined in rehab by her sister Tess, albeit briefly, under unrelated circumstances. On December 8, 2011, Alexis participated in an episode of Nik Richie radio on the website www.thedirty.com. She admitted to being addicted to heroin, Xanax, alcohol, and OxyContin during the filming of Pretty Wild, stating that when not filming the show she was "living in a Best Western hotel", getting high and panhandling for money on the streets. She also claims she was sexually molested as a young child, which contributed to her drug problems. She says she no longer speaks to her former costar and adopted sister Tess Taylor. In late 2013, Neiers said she has been sober for three years.
Recovery
Haines got sober at nineteen years old, after facing up to six years in the California State prison system due to her addiction to heroin. Haines started school while in treatment in order to obtain her CASAC certification to become a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. She presently writes for Vice about youth, addiction, and recovery. She is also shooting a documentary for Vice, focusing on the heroin epidemic amongst youth in the Los Angeles area, and specifically, to show the human face of those in active addiction and hear their personal stories. Haines is now a counselor at Alo House Recovery Centers and hosts a podcast called Recovering from Reality.
Family
Her father, Mikael, worked as a director of photography on Friends and her mother, Andrea, was an actress and model who was in Playboy in the 1980s. They divorced, and Andrea remarried. Alexis was home-schooled by her mother. In April 2012, Alexis married Evan Haines, a Canadian businessman, in Mexico. There were 20 guests, including Neiers mother, Gabby, and Tess. On April 24, 2013, Neiers gave birth to their first child, a girl, named Harper Elisabeth Haines. She later gave birth to their second child, another girl, named Dakota Haines.
