NEW GIRL: Aviva Drescher (pictured inset with Ramona Singer and Carole Radziwill) lost her left leg as a child and now wears a prosthetic limb.
Finally, “The Real Housewives of New York,” the show that launched such desperate media hounds as Jill Whazzernmae, Ramona MILF and Bethenny Loud, has decided after too many seasons of sickening to do something decent.
The newest “Housewife,” Aviva Drescher, 38, is not just another typical wealthy Upper East Side richie with the requisite long blond hair and long legs. Definitely not.
For starters, Drescher only has one leg — she lost the other when she was 6 years old in a farming accident while visiting a friend upstate.
That would stop a lot of young girls from pursuing a full life. Not Drescher.
In fact, she’s a twice-married lawyer and mom of four.
In fact, in as typical a Manhattan story as it gets, she met husband, Reid Drescher at, yes, Bed Bath and Beyond. Both were hauling around toddlers as they re-stocked home supplies after difficult divorces.
“The kids started playing with each other, and he said, ‘It’s tough being a single dad,’ ” says Drescher.
“Was he hitting on you?” I asked. She laughed, which she does a lot. “Yes, I think so. Let’s say we took the ‘beyond’ to another level.” No kidding. They now have two more children together.
OK, so I asked the gorgeous, nearly six-footer, the hard question: “How did you tell him — or any guy you dated — that you are an amputee?”
“When I first started dating at Fieldston [her high school],” she said, “everybody knew about it — so it was not a big deal.
“But in law school, it was different.
“People are sexually attracted to each other, and after a date or two I’d have to tell them.
“It’s a great way to weed out the ones who shouldn’t have been with me. It was almost a protection from the bad ones out there.
“I’ve had guys say, ‘That’s so cool! Let me touch it!’ ”
Law is on hold for Drescher and working with amputees is her passion. An exciting night for her is dinner at home with Reid and the kids. Period.
Why is such a rare bird getting down in the “Real Housewives” mud?
Her honesty is astonishing.
“I was embarrassed by my castmates [from earlier seasons]. Very embarrassed. They have been social climbers. I was born and bred here. I don’t think my predecessors have done a good job of representing Upper East Side moms. I weighed it all very, very carefully.”
Finally, after some sleepless nights, her conscience won out.
“If I can take the silliness of the show and use it to get a message out to other amputees particularly young girls — yup, I’ll take it.
“I hope to bring some dignity to it. There may be teenagers missing limbs or who have other physical limitations and see this silly blonde on TV and then realize, ‘Wait, that woman’s an amputee with a family. She’s a lawyer. I can do that.’ When I was that age, I didn’t think I could ever get married.”
Now she has three legs — one real, two artificial. One’s for flat shoes and one’s for heels.
On the show, she brings the extra leg when she gets a pedicure. Colors have to match. Love that.
“Last week, I told my 10-year-old son: ‘A lot of people don’t like this show. It’s very possible your friends will make fun of you, but I want people to understand people who have a ‘special leg.’ That’s what we call it.”
In not so many words, he answered “Screw ’em.”
As it turns out? The only real “Real Housewife of New York,” so far is the one with the artificial leg!