Shock pic shows Jackie O moments before checking into rehab

Previously unseen pictures show the radio star smoking in a gutter just moments before checking into rehab for drug addiction.

Previously-unseen pictures of Jackie “O” Henderson, taken just moments before she checked into rehab for her drug and alcohol addiction, have been released in her new memoir.

The KIIS FM radio star admitted herself to the prestigious Betty Ford Clinic, located two hours out of Los Angeles, in 2022.

Jackie, 49, was seen smoking a cigarette while sitting in the gutter of a car park outside the clinic, her Chanel bag lying beside her, as she awaits her Covid test results.

Jackie was seen puffing on a cigarette as she awaited admission to the clinic. Picture: Supplied

Another picture included in The Whole Truth, which was released on Tuesday, shows the presenter flying “incognito” in business class as she heads to California, where the centre is located.

The radio star managed to fly “incognito” to the US. Picture: Supplied

Jackie wrote in her book that her drug habit had started out as “casual” before quickly escalating.

“It was casual at first, until it wasn’t. Truth be told, while over the years when times got tough, I’d go to the chemist and grab myself some Nurofen Plus to take the edge off, now it was different,” she wrote.

“To experience any kind of high, I had been taking roughly ten Nurofen Plus tablets at once for years. Now that I was deeper into my addiction, I was taking that much three or four times a day.”

Following her divorce from Lee Henderson in 2018, her need to escape reality heightened as she dealt with “loneliness and guilt” while separated from their daughter, Kitty.

“In an attempt to cope with the loneliness and guilt I was feeling, I made another bad decision. I began taking sleeping pills — Stilnox — on the days I was alone, as a way to numb the loneliness,” Jackie recalled.

“It was a coward’s way of dealing with my pain, finding comfort in what was slowly becoming an addiction.”

After finally reaching out to her best friend about her problem, she was persuaded to check herself in to the pricey rehab centre in the US in November 2022.

At the time, she told listeners she was taking time out as she’d been struggling with fatigue since contracting Covid.

In fact, she spent 28 days in rehab, having enrolled in a 12-step program “to treat the substance dependence and drug addiction I’ve been able to keep secret for three long and painful years.”

The room within the clinic where she suffered withdrawals. Picture: Supplied

The radio star is now clean and sober. Picture: Instagram

Jackie first revealed her secret rehab stint in an emotional segment on The Kyle and Jackie O Show last week, in which she read a preview passage from her book.

While she received widespread support after the show aired, she was also criticised for not acknowledging that while she could access care at the ritzy US facility, many other Australians are unable to afford basic services locally.

After being “deeply moved” by the “thousands of messages” she’d received, Jackie took to Instagram to pledge that all of her profits would be donated to an Australian rehab facility.

“I was fortunate enough to have access to treatment and I recognise how privileged that makes me,” she said.

“Unfortunately, not everyone has the same opportunity. Which is why, all my profits from my book, which is on sale tomorrow, will be donated to Odyssey House Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre.

“ … The work they do is powerful, important and transformative.”

Odyssey House is one of Australia’s largest rehab services and claims to have helped more than 45,000 people over four decades.

Jackie added: “Thank you to everyone who has shared their personal stories with me”.

“I’m still reading through your messages and will do my best to respond to each one. Your honesty and support means the world to me.”

The Betty Ford Clinic is known as a rehab centre for the rich and famous, with a month-long stay costing up to $90,000.

During the emotional segment last Thursday, Jackie admitted she had been “badly addicted” to lots of different things, including painkillers, sleeping pills and alcohol.

“I was averaging about 24 Panadeine Forte painkillers a day and then I was averaging about 10 to 12 Stilnox [sleeping tablets] a day,” she revealed.

“Someone was watching over me because I don’t know how I woke up most days with that kind of dosage.”

Jackie’s book, The Whole Truth, is now available to buy.

For support or advice about alcohol and other drugs, visit adf.org.au or call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.

If you are worried about your own, or a friend or relative’s alcohol or other drug use, you can visit the ADF’s Path2Help. This free online tool will connect you with local services in your area that can help, based on your personal circumstances.

Originally published as Shock pic shows Jackie O moments before checking into rehab