Jackie O reveals drug addiction and entering rehab

Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has come out to fellow radio host Kyle Sandilands with the shocking confession that he has been in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.

The 49-year-old mother made the admission live in her KIIS FM show, telling Kyle and listeners that her best friend Gemma O’Neill “saved her life” by persuading her to check into the Betty Ford Clinic in California in 2022.

He then explained his two-month absence The Kyle and Jackie O Show saying he needed a break after suffering from Covid.

But instead of resting and focusing on her health, Jackie was secretly flying to the United States where she checked into the facility, a favorite of Hollywood stars, and was treated for an addiction to painkillers, pills for sleep and alcohol.

The radio host tearfully explained that at the height of her addiction, she was taking around 10-12 Stilnox/Zolpidem sleeping pills and 24 Panadeine Forte a day and would take them while drinking alcohol.

“Somebody was watching me because I don’t know how I woke up most days on that kind of high,” he said.

Stillnox users are told not to drink alcohol while taking the pills, as it can slow down the breathing system and make it harder to wake up.

She went on to explain how her struggle began more than 15 years ago when she was prescribed a strong opioid pain reliever for endometriosis, a condition that causes severe abdominal pain.

“I was prescribed this and I found myself at the time taking more of it than I needed to and I recognized that this could be a problem, so I stopped at that point,” she said.

But after her split in 2018 from husband Lee Henderson, with whom she shares 13-year-old daughter Kitty, she began dipping into pills to dull the pain of the situation.

“I went back to it as a way to go to some happiness, please, and it was a way to escape and it was so wrong,” she explained.

Things went from bad to worse during the pandemic lockdowns when, alone and isolated at home, Jackie says she turned to a mixture of pills and alcohol to ease the “sadness” she felt.

It was only when the dose had increased to his height that he recognized he might have a problem. It was then that he confided in his friend Gemma.

“It came to a head and (Gemma) was a great friend. She said, ‘I’m sorry Jackie, but you’re not going to cut it, it’s never going to work.'” She gets you into rehab at the end of the week and we go ‘”.

Despite Jackie’s objections, Gemma stood her ground and made it happen.

“Thank God there was someone like her because I think she saved my life,” Jackie confessed.

Speaking before his memoirs, The whole truth opens on October 29, Jackie said she has struggled to open up about her battle with addiction.

“I was scared to tell people and say this out loud, I know people will look at me differently,” she told listeners.

But with her daughter’s blessing she decided to go ahead and share what has happened.

At the time, Kitty didn’t know what was going on, but the pair have since had frank talks and Jackie explained why it was important for her to go public.

“I said to Kitty, ‘I think there are a lot of people who have different kinds of addictions who are stuck in this place,'” Jackie said.

Talking about it meant I could reduce the “stigma” around drug addiction and “normalize” it for others.

Kyle was shocked by the confession and said he was “embarrassed” to have sat in front of her every day without knowing it.

“You’re so anti-drug, that’s the shock, you’ve never been the party girl, you’ve never been,” she said.

He wasn’t the only one, and Jackie read his memoirs detailing how the reason for his absence was a secret to all his colleagues.

“The whole team wishes me well, I’m sure they’re curious about my temporary leave, but none of them really know why I’m taking a step back,” he read. “But it has to be.”

The segment ended on a high note, however, and Jackie revealed that she is about to celebrate two years of sobriety.