For nearly two years, Jackie ‘O’ Henderson wondered how the world and those closest to her would react if she shared the truth about what happened in November 2022.
That was the month she went to rehab after battling drug and alcohol addiction for three years.
Now, in a rare candid interview with Good Weekend, the 49-year-old Australian radio superstar explains that he’s been returning to the idea of speaking out for nearly two years.
Read more: Jackie O admits battle with addiction, collapses
Jackie O. Henderson got candid in a new interview with Good Weekend. Let’s go out now. (supply/good weekend)
“There were many times when I thought, ‘Should I say that?'” she seriously told the outlet.
“But then you think, ‘I have a right to keep this a secret until I’m ready,’ because sobriety is really fragile.”
That’s something she had never told the media before.
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Henderson had been battling addiction privately for years before spending a month at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, California, in late 2022.
At the time, she kept her struggle a secret from almost everyone, including her bosses at KIIS FM and Kyle Sandilands, co-host of The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
Asked why he didn’t share the fight with Sandilands sooner, Henderson told Good Weekend he was not willing to take the risk.
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Jackie O stopped a fight with co-host Kyle Sandilands. (KIISFM)
“I know Kyle, and if I say something to him privately, he’s not going to say it outright on the air,” she said. “But he may have made a little gaffe and he didn’t want anyone to know.”
Despite keeping Sandilands in the dark, he had mostly guessed the truth.
Before her stay, Henderson told listeners she would be taking time off to focus on her health after a long battle with COVID-19.
Read more: Jackie ‘O’ Henderson emotional update after revealing private battle with addiction
Jackie O might not have written this book without her daughter’s support. (Instagram)
When Sandilands returned, he joked on the airwaves that he was probably at the Betty Ford Center. He didn’t know that was the very place where she was being treated for addiction.
Henderson shared her struggle with addiction with the world Thursday morning as she read excerpts from her upcoming memoir, “Jackie O: The Whole Truth,” live on air.
But without the heartfelt support of Ms. Henderson’s 13-year-old daughter, Kitty, this memoir might never have been written. Kitty has shown incredible compassion for her mother throughout her struggle.
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Jackie O’s daughter Kitty supported her during the battle. (Instagram/Jackie O)
“I don’t know what would have happened if Kitty had felt differently,” Henderson told Good Weekend. “To be honest, I don’t think I would have written this book.”
Read the full story in Good Weekend now, or on the Good Weekend website here.
Jackie O: The Whole Truth will be released on October 29th.
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.
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