Former The Chase host Andrew O’Keefe makes plans to return to rehab

What next for former Channel 7 host Andrew O’Keefe? More rehab, time with family and a job hunt say those close to the troubled star.

What next for Andrew O’Keefe?

The game show host is set to return to rehab following his release from a Randwick hospital, where he was treated last month for unspecified issues following his arrest on January 31 for the alleged assault of his partner, Dr Orly Lavee, a mother of two and a doctor at St Vincent’s Hospital.

This column is informed the couple have now separated.

Andrew O’Keefe is set to return to rehab. Picture: Tim Hunter

O’Keefe has been supported by family since leaving hospital.

A Sydney-based sibling is said to have welcomed him into their home and has been supporting the troubled television star as he works at getting back on his feet.

After being let go by Channel 7 in February and replaced as host of The Chase with Larry Emdur, O’Keefe now has all the time he needs to focus on his recovery from the mental health issues that have plagued him for years and contributed to his frequent absences from the ITV production studio.

He plans to return to rehab in future weeks, we understand, but this time at a private facility, where he will continue the work begun at Randwick, where he was admitted involuntarily.

Last month he told one media outlet he had “had some experimentation with the mental health drugs” during his time in Prince of Wales Hospital’s psychiatric ward.

O’Keefe with ex-partner Orly Lavee, who he is accused of assaulting.

His three children by his estranged wife Eleanor, from whom he split in 2017, remain his highest priority, along with his recovery.

His youngest child from that union is not yet 10.

Only once he has his mental issues in hand will he begin the search for work.

Sources have told this column that despite his decades on television and the lucrative legal career that preceded it, O’Keefe has a cashflow issue.

“His divorce pretty much cleaned him out,” a friend said, on the condition of anonymity.

“He doesn’t have much.”

O’Keefe is due to return to court for hearing on April 20.