By KORIN MILLER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, December 10th 2008, 9:46 AM
Lauri Waring Peterson officially said good-bye to "The Real Housewives of Orange County" Tuesday night - and she's already questioning her decision.
But Peterson says she had good reason to leave the show that made her a reality TV star: Her son, Josh Waring, is battling a heroin addiction.
"You don't even know," the blonde mother of six says of agonizing over the "very, very, very difficult" choice to leave the show. "I've already thought, 'What did I do?' "
Peterson became an overnight sensation on the hit Bravo series in 2006, alongside four other women from the same swanky southern California neighborhood.
Her life as a single-mom-turned-happily-married-woman played out in front of the cameras - including her fairy tale wedding to real estate developer George Peterson. But there were some things, like her son's arrest, that she didn't want on TV.
Waring, 20, was arrested in June for possession of heroin and ecstasy with intent to sell - the same day filming began for the fourth season of "Housewives."
He's currently cooling his heels in jail, but is expected to be released in a few weeks.
"I felt that I really needed privacy," Peterson says. "I really wasn't allowing the production company to film my son's situation for entertainment value. ... I really feel that that's Josh's story."
Peterson tried to continue filming – but quickly realized her heart wasn't in it.
She's since seen the footage from her final episode several times, noting that it doesn’t get easier to rehash the events of her life immediately following her son's arrest.
"I watched it three times and each time I was hysterically sobbing, crying my heart out," Peterson says, tearing up again.
"The intense pain that I feel for [Josh] and the trepidation ... that's gut-wrenching for me to watch."
Peterson now plans to "step back and support" her son, but she still finds time for her fellow "Housewives,” getting together with her pals “when we can.”
Friendships aside, she doesn't plan to look back.
"I want to do more," Peterson says, listing endorsement deals and a memoir as opportunities she'd like to explore.
"There's been so much more to my reality than what the cameras have captured," she says, explaining her interest in a book deal.
But although Peterson wants to branch out, she's not ruling out a "Housewives" comeback.
Says Peterson: "It's given me great opportunities. I mean, we were on 'Oprah.' "
