Olivia Rogers’ startling revelation: why she’s giving up alcohol

Olivia Rogers attends all the swish soirees where champagne is flowing, but she’s saying “enough is enough” to alcohol. Here’s why:

Olivia Rogers. Picture: Sam Tabone

Adelaide’s 2017 Miss Universe Australia Olivia Rogers is saying cheers to abstaining from alcohol after deciding “enough is enough”.

A mental heath advocate, Rogers has previously spoken publicly about her battle with depression, anxiety and an eating disorder - all in a bid to help others going though the same thing.

Olivia Rogers with her dog Ziggy. Picture: Darren McNamara

And now she has started a conversation about sobriety, after sharing a raw and honest lengthy post with her close to 170,000 followers on Instagram.

Asking those who see read it to “please be kind”, Rogers has admitted to having an awful hangover on May 1 after a night out with her fiance Justin Mckeone and friends.

“The plan was to have ‘just a few wines’ but I ended up having far too many (an all too familiar scenario) & I felt horrendous,” she wrote.

“The night started out well but it ended with Justin and I having a silly argument and I said things I didn’t mean which were fuelled by alcohol (another familiar scenario).”

Going on to detail her hangover, saying “my anxiety was through the roof”, Rogers said she felt “sad & angry” at herself.

“I do so much positive work on my mental and physical health during the week, yet on the weekends I was willingly drinking knowing that it would ultimately lead to me feeling like a crappy version of myself,” she wrote, adding: “So I decided it was time to pull the pin on alcohol, enough is enough.”

Rogers went on to say her original plan was to abstain from alcohol for 30 days, but after 24 days she had “no desire to go backwards”.

“I feel fresh, may anxiety has decreased, I am sleeping better, I’m fitter, happier & I like myself more - every day of the week,” she wrote.

As always, Rogers wanted to reach out to anyone else who also felt they needed support: she did so by tagging “amazing people & resources” such as @thisnakedmind and @asobergirlsguide.

“I also hope that we can reduce the stigma around sobriety,” she wrote. “Choosing to be sober does not make me feel like I am missing out & it does not make me boring, it is a radical act of self care & it makes me feel strong.”