Jodhi Meares ‘haunted’ by her marriage to James Packer, court told during Sydney DUI hearing

JODHI Meares is “haunted” by her marriage to James Packer, which forced her to unwillingly live her life in a media spotlight, a court was told.

JODHI Meares is “haunted” by her brief marriage to billionaire James Packer, which forced her to unwillingly live her life in a media spotlight, a court was told yesterday.

After weeks spent hiding in her apartment the former bikini model fronted Waverley Magistrate’s Court to plead guilty to drunkenly crashing her Range Rover into three parked cars on June 2. She was fined $1100 and banned from driving for a year for an offence which carries a maximum penalty of 18 months’ jail and a fine of $3300.

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Jodhi Meares entering Waverley Court / Picture: Ross Schultz

Her lawyer Chris Murphy said Meares was so worried about the media interest she had been placed on anti-anxiety drugs.

He said he had to coax her out of her apartment to attend court yesterday morning.

Mr Murphy said Meares’ two-year marriage to Mr Packer had branded her a celebrity for life: “It haunts everything that is said about her. She is not a celebrity, she is not a movie star, she is a woman raised by a single mother.”

Jodhi Mears arrives at Waverley court yesterday to face drink-driving charges. Picture: John Grainger

Dressed in a black pant suit and stilettos, Meares looked stunned as she stepped out of a 4WD into the middle of a media throng yesterday.

The former model had a blood-alcohol content of 0.181, three times the legal limit, when she rolled her car into three parked cars on O’Sullivan Rd, Bellevue Hill, in June.

James Packer with his then-wife Jodhi in 2001.

The court heard Meares told police after the crash she had consumed five drinks before getting ­behind the wheel.

Mr Murphy told Magistrate Julie Huber that Meares had been punished by the media, which trapped her in her apartment for 16 days before she fled to the US to be with fiance Jon Stevens, from INXS: “She was a prisoner in her own home.’’

He said the media attention went as far as a Daily Mail photographer running a red light in his pursuit of Meares and Mr Murphy as they headed to court. Mr Murphy said he took a photograph of the car and ­reported the incident to police.

The crash scene at O'Sullivan Rd Bellevue Hill / Picture: Supplied

Prosecutor Daniel McMahon said the seriousness of her high range drink driving offence was aggravated by the reading of higher than .15 and the fact Meares had crashed. Ms Huber dismissed Mr Murphy’s argument that a hard-to-see traffic island was to blame for Meares rolling her car: “Had you been driving under the limit of .05 the chances of you being involved in a collision would have been remote.”

Jodhi Meares and her lawyer Chris Murphy / Picture: Ross Schultz

Two additional charges of driving while suspended will be withdrawn.

Ms Huber gave no special treatment to the eastern suburbs socialite, making her sit in her court while she dealt with other cases ­before sentencing her.