Jackie ‘O’ Henderson made headlines in 2023 when she sold her Sydney ‘dream home’ for $13million.
At the time, the 49-year-old radio star explained that paparazzi had influenced her decision to offload the lavish eastern suburbs property.
But in her new memoir The Whole Truth, Jackie reveals a darker twist to the sale, saying she linked the home to her addiction to alcohol and prescription pills.
Jackie said it was when she was living in the lavish Woollahra home that she started abusing alcohol.
She also became hooked on prescription medication, including codeine.
‘By myself, at night in particular, it was hell on earth,’ she explains in the book.
Bought as a ‘forever home’ in June 2022 for $ 11 million, Jackie describes the four-bedroom, three-bathroom luxury spread as a ‘fortress’ in her new tome.
‘On one side the trees went miles up — it felt like being in a rainforest, completely cut off from the world — while on the other side it was like concrete ramparts with a gate,’ she writes.
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has revealed the dark and disturbing reason she decided to sell her flashy ‘forever home’ in Sydney’s eastern suburbs
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson made headlines in 2023 when she sold her ‘dream home’ in Woollahra for $13million
‘I was surprised it didn’t have a moat. Inside, this palace was cold marble and stone. It was like living inside a Westfield shopping centre — chilly and soulless.’
By November of 2022, Jackie had fled the house to the US for a 28-day stay in famous rehab clinic, the Betty Ford Center.
Her friend Gemma O’Neill, meanwhile, started to organise a sale for what was supposed to be Jackie’s ‘forever home’.
In her new memoir The Whole Truth, Jackie reveals a darker twist to the sale, saying she linked the home to her addiction to alcohol and prescription pills
‘I never wanted to go back to the house in Woollahra,’ the radio star writes in the book.
‘…Gemma helped me put it up on the market privately so that no one would know I was in this state of upheaval.’
Jackie originally bought the Woollahra property after selling a gorgeous mansion in Vaucluse she had built with her ex-husband, Lee Henderson.
The former couple paid $ 2.7million for the property in the sought-after neighbourhood in 2012.
The pair then constructed what Jackie calls in her book a ‘Father of the Bride House’ – a reference to a 1950 Hollywood film that celebrates up-scale suburbia.
Jackie originally bought the Woollahra property after selling a gorgeous mansion in Vaucluse she had built with her ex husband, Lee Henderson. The former couple paid $ 2.7million for the property in the sought-after neighbourhood in 2012. (Pictured)
The palatial home, which features five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a white picket fence, was sold in 2020 for $6.5 million.
Before splashing out on the Woollahra pad, Jackie lived in a Bondi rental – but complained about being harassed by paparazzi.
In March this year, it was revealed Jackie splurged $13.25million on a three-storey oceanfront house in Clovelly at an open auction.
The home is set back from the road, offering the privacy she didn’t have on the narrow streets of her Woollahra address.
The palatial home, which features five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a white picket fence, was sold in 2020 for $6.5 million. (Pictured)
Earlier this year, Jackie teased fans with details about how she plans to transfer the two-storey home into her dream pad.
Features include vast open-plan living spaces with ocean views, a new built-in pool, sculptured gardens and palm trees.
Fighting back tears, Jackie revealed she checked into the Betty Ford Center in California in November 2022, when she took an extended break from The Kyle and Jackie O Show, which she previously claimed was due to long Covid.
In March this year, it was revealed Jackie splurged $13.25million on a three-storey oceanfront house in Clovelly at an open auction
Known for treating Hollywood stars including Keith Urban, Robert Downey Jr. and Lindsay Lohan, the Betty Ford Center charges anywhere from $45,000 to $90,000 AUD for a month-long stay, depending on the program.
Jackie revealed her long-time friend Gemma had been instrumental into getting Jackie into rehab.
She recalled: ‘It came to a head and [Gemma] was such a great friend. She said ”I’m sorry Jackie, but you’re not going to taper off this, it will never work. I’m checking you into rehab at the end of the week, and we’re going”.
‘I said, ”Don’t be ridiculous, Gemma. That is such overkill. I don’t have a problem that bad that I need to go to Betty Ford”.’
‘And she said no, we’re going, and we’re doing it, and I thank God she did that,’ Jackie added.
‘Thank God there was someone out there like her because I believe she saved my life.’
She said they caught a night flight out of Australia and boarded at the ‘last moment’ to avoid being seen.
Then, they jetted over to LA, where Gemma stayed with her for two days before she checked into the Betty Ford Center.
She said Gemma accompanied her to LA and helped her to get on the plane ‘undetected’ as she discussed keeping her addiction a secret for two ‘long and painful years’.
At the time, Kyle – who was unaware of Jackie’s drug addiction – told their listeners Jackie was taking a break to ‘focus on her health’ after contracting Covid.
Instead, she was secretly flown out of Australia to be treated for 28 days at the world famous rehab facility for an addiction to painkillers, sleeping pills and alcohol.
At the height of her addiction, Jackie took around 10-12 Stilnox/Zolpidem sleeping pills and 24 Panadeine Forte a day and would take them while drinking alcohol.
Stilnox users are warned not to drink alcohol as it can slow the respiratory system and make it difficult to wake up.
Jackie said Betty Ford told her not to change ‘anything’ about her usage before arriving as it could be ‘dangerous’ so she was still taking the pills the day she flew out to the US.
She added that she went ‘back and forth’ in deciding whether to share the news publicly before detailing the extent of her addiction in her memoir, The Whole Truth.
