New NY 'Wife Aviva Drescher: I Hope My Disability Inspires Others

When The Real Housewives of New York hits the airwaves once again on Monday for its fifth season (tune in at 10/9c), one plotline that's sure to be the talk of water coolers around the country is Aviva Drescher and her leg.

Drescher, who joins RHONY as a new cast member along with Carole Radziwill and Heather Thompson, had her left leg amputated below the knee after suffering an accident on a farm when she was just six years old. Still, that doesn't affect her confidence one bit, and that's what she's hoping to show off during her time on the reality show. "I wanted to get the word out that people with challenges and limitations can do everything that everyone else can," Drescher told Celebuzz.

"That's why I’m doing the show, I guess; to let other people — especially women — know that they can feel the same way," she continued, adding that she gets "more upset when I get a pimple on my nose" than about her leg these days.

Drescher says she lost 20 pounds in the lead-up to signing on for Housewives, but all of that stress and anxiety will hopefully translate to her message helping others. "If I can help people who are amputees, or who have limitations, then all the pain and the humiliation will be worth it, and me being made into a caricature will be fine," she says.

Get ready for an all new season of RHONY starting Monday, and get to know Aviva a little better with our exclusive tour of her Miami pad below.

Aviva's Miami Crib