Jackie O. Henderson gave an emotional statement on Live This Morning today, opening up about her private battle with drug addiction.
Until this morning, only a handful of people knew the extent of Henderson’s suffering before she voluntarily entered a treatment program at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, Calif., in November 2022.
But there was one person who was by her side every moment. That’s her best friend and manager Gemma O’Neill, to whom Henderson credits her life.
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Jackie O Henderson says her best friend Gemma O’Neill saved her life. (Instagram/@jackieo_official)
The 49-year-old radio host read her upcoming memoir, Jackie O: The Whole Truth, encouraged her to seek treatment, helped her pack and accompanied her on the more than 7,000-mile journey. O’Neill, 41, was the one who gave it to him. To Palm Springs.
Reflecting on the difficult period, Ms Henderson told co-host Kyle Sandilands and newsreader Brooklyn Ross that without O’Neill she might not be here today.
“I believe she saved my life, and she did,” Henderson said. “And I think we all need friends like that.”
Watch the video above.
Thankfully, Ms. Henderson has been by Ms. O’Neal’s side through some really difficult times in her life, and the two have shared countless ups and downs over their more than 20-year friendship.
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Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O Show this morning, Henderson revealed how O’Neal helped her battle with addiction in her private life. (Instagram / Kyle and Jackie O)
Here, we take a look at the duo’s decades-long friendship.
How did Jackie O and Gemma O’Neill meet?
Ms. O’Neill, who is eight years Ms. Henderson’s junior, first met Mr. Henderson when she was in high school and working as a receptionist at the radio station where Ms. Henderson worked at the time.
“When I met Gemma, she was in uniform, and I’m a little older than her,” Henderson told Studio 10’s Angela Bishop in an interview last year.
“And she was working at the reception desk at the radio station where I was working at the time, and that’s where we met.
“She was always a very passionate person and always pursued her goals. So she went from being a student wanting to get into radio to running an entire radio network many years later. I did.”
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Henderson and O’Neal spoke about their friendship on Studio 10 last year. (10)
Since they met, O’Neal has gone on to become head of SCA’s Hit Network and at one point served as executive producer of “The Kyle and Jackie O Show,” which allowed the two to “get to know each other very well.” I did it,” Henderson said.
Gemma is Jackie O’s manager
Colleagues first and friends second, O’Neal and Henderson have consistently managed to balance their personal and professional lives within their friendship.
Since launching talent management company Gemmy Agency in 2022, O’Neill has worked as Henderson’s manager and helped coordinate her business.
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besties side hustle
Last year, the two took a new step forward in business, starting a new side hustle together called Besties.
Henderson revealed the news of the duo’s new company on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
“The company’s name is Besties. We provide a space for close friends to gather for special guest speaker events, private getaways, and luxury products, all for you and your BFFs,” she said. Said.
Last year, the duo teamed up with American actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, inviting her to be a guest speaker at a goodwill event in Sydney last October.
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Gwyneth Paltrow attends Jackie O and Gemma O’Neal’s Best Tees presentation (Instagram)
This year, the Besties brand became home to the Her Best Life podcast, hosted by two of our best friends.
“We spend hours each week chatting together, so we thought it would be a good idea to start a podcast for women like us, where we share what we discover along the way in a fun, unfiltered way. “We wanted listeners to feel like they were sitting on the couch with us,” Henderson and O’Neal shared about the podcast.
holiday time
But that’s not all for the longtime best friends. Over 20 years of friendship, the two have shared countless memories.
The two have traveled together countless times, including a memorable Christmas together in Fiji in 2022.
“On Christmas Day, we went to a local village on another island,” O’Neill told Women’s Weekly about the trip.
“We were buying presents. We were buying things the kids needed, like soccer balls and coloring books, and we were spending Christmas together. We wanted the kids to experience it and get involved.” I wish I had, and I’m really glad I did,” Henderson added.
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How a chance phone call led to Jackie O’s $200 million salary
get over heartbreak
Henderson and O’Neal found themselves at the end of their marriage at about the same time. This experience made their bond even stronger.
Jackie told Women’s Weekly: “It’s nice to have a friend my age who has gone through the same things as me.”
“It definitely helps. It’s not fun if you’re single and the other person is married or in a relationship. That’s when you feel really alone. So, find friends who are in the same position. Having him there made it a lot easier.”
highs and lows
The duo has truly weathered some of the highest highs and lowest lows.
“We’ve been best friends for over 20 years, and we’ve loved making terrible fashion choices, husbands, moving (on and on and on!), vacations, babies, beginner tarot card readings, swimming with sharks, and dancing around our living room to our favorite songs. “There was a lot of singing, a lot of tears, and a lot of laughter,” Henderson said of O’Neal in an Instagram post announcing his new venture, Besties.
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Mr. Henderson said he owed Mr. O’Neill a great deal. (Instagram/@jackieo_officail)
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Gemma changed Jackie O’s life
The importance of the bond between Henderson and O’Neal is made even more acute by recent news about Henderson.
In a video shared to Instagram last year, the pair hinted that the radio host’s battle with addiction was the “low point of 2022.”
“Gemma was the only one who had the courage to say, ‘What’s happening is not okay,'” Ms Henderson said in the video.
We now know that O’Neal subsequently booked Henderson into a treatment facility to get her the help she needed. It was a move that Henderson was very grateful for.
“A best friend is someone who not only wants to share the good times, laugh with you, travel with you, do great things with you, but also be with you through the difficult times,” Henderson said.
“And sometimes it’s hard to say to a friend, ‘I don’t understand what’s going on, but I know you can do better.’ And that’s exactly what Gemma did for me. And she changed my life, and I will forever be in a huge debt of gratitude to this beautiful girl.”
If you or someone you know would like to talk to someone confidentially about addiction, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Reach Out. In case of emergency, please call 000.
