Jackie ‘O’ Henderson made a surprise visit to a rehab facility in Sydney on Wednesday after revealing her past battles with drugs and alcohol.
The radio star, 50, shared harrowing details of her personal journey with addiction as she visited residents at Odyssey House.
In a series of photos posted to the rehab centre’s Instagram, Jackie was seen posing with the residents after gifting them her memoir The Whole Truth.
‘It was a pleasure to host @jackieo_official and @gemmyjean at our Residential Recovery Centre this week. We had the opportunity to show Jackie the impact that her generous support will have on our community,’ the caption read.
‘Jackie was accompanied by some of our residents as she toured the Centre and they shared what their daily life is like in the Residential Recovery Program.
‘You’ll see in the photos Jackie even had the chance to meet one of the babies who is currently living with their mum at our Family Recovery Centre, where they are both getting the support and care they need.’
Jackie O Henderson made a surprise visit to a rehab facility in Sydney on Wednesday after revealing her past battles with drugs and alcohol
They also revealed how ‘Jackie listened to personal stories, all unique, and many complex with trauma or mental health issues contributing to substance use.’
‘Thank you Jackie for taking the time to visit us and for sharing your own experience to help others, we deeply appreciate you! You were so generous with your time and our residents and staff had an amazing day,’ the post ended.
Jackie previously shared her own personal story with addiction with listeners during The Kyle and Jackie O Show back in October.
Fighting back tears, Jackie shared that she checked into rehab facility the Betty Ford Clinic in California in November 2022, when she took an extended break from The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she previously claimed was due to long Covid.
Known for treating Hollywood stars including Keith Urban, Robert Downey Jr. and Lindsay Lohan, Betty Ford charges anywhere from $45,000 to $90,000 AUD for a month-long stay, depending on the program.
Jackie revealed on-air that her long-time friend Gemma had been instrumental into getting Jackie into rehab.
She emotionally credited Gemma with saving her life by persuading her to check into the Betty Ford Clinic.
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”.’
The radio star shared harrowing details of her personal journey with addiction as she visited residents at Odyssey House
In a series of photos posted to the rehab centre’s Instagram, Jackie was all smiles as she posed with a staff member after gifting them her memoir The Whole Truth
‘I said ”don’t be ridiculous, Gemma like 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 admitted.
‘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 and then jetted over to LA, where Gemma stayed with her for two days before she checked into the Betty Ford Clinic.
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.
‘Thank you Jackie for taking the time to visit us and for sharing your own experience to help others, we deeply appreciate you! You were so generous with your time and our residents and staff had an amazing day,’ the post said
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.
Jackie also said she went ‘back and forth’ deciding whether to share the news publicly before detailing the extent of her addiction in her memoir The Whole Truth.
If you’re looking for support for alcohol and drug use, reach out to Odyssey House NSW on 1800 397 739.
