The relationship breakdown that led to Derryn Hinch ‘back on the booze’ headlines

THE public spat between Derryn Hinch and his ex is getting ugly. She’s now claimed he would drink up to two bottles in a day after getting a new liver.

THE former partner of Derryn Hinch has rejected the transplant recipient’s claim he drinks only watered-down wine and non-alcoholic beer, saying he downed up to two bottles a day after getting a new liver.

In an interview from her New Zealand home, Natasha Chadwick told Sky News she had noticed her ex start to drink more after they stopped living together.

“He would drink at home, he started to have glasses of wine when we went out,” she said.

“At a maximum point, it would not be a daily occurrence, but anywhere from one to two (bottles).”

Ms Chadwick said at one point, when Mr Hinch was asleep in her bed, he “absolutely reeked of booze”.

“I thought, we’ve got an issue now,” she said.

The self-confessed Human Headline has lived up to his nickname today, making a splash with news he’s “back on the booze”, after swearing off alcohol when he received a lifesaving liver transplant in 2011.

But rather than indulging in the publicity, Mr Hinch is writing the incident off as a “break up beat up”.

Although he’s long proven he’s capable of making headlines under his own steam, the new Senator is blaming his latest controversy squarely on his former lover.

The news that Mr Hinch was on the drink — which he’s since confessed saying he knocks back a watered-down wine weekly and on special occasions with his doctor’s permission — was revealed in a very public, social media based lovers spat.

And he says he saw it coming.

Earlier this week, the Canberra newcomer tweeted “HHNF — Hell hath no fury”. Those who know the rest of that saying would anticipate he was hinting at trouble with a particular woman.

The apparently scorned one was Ms Chadwick, who Mr Hinch says up until two days ago, was his girlfriend.

Derryn Hinch and Natasha Chadwick. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

Ms Chadwick, 36, also 36 years her former partner’s junior, was with Mr Hinch for two years until she announced the end of the pair’s relationship via Facebook last year.

The pair rekindled their love affair and only broke up on Sunday, Mr Hinch said in a radio interview this morning.

The former detective spent more than a decade with the NSW Police before becoming a journalist turned travel blogger.

She has previously said it was “love at first sight” when she met Mr Hinch while working on the set of Seven’s Sunday Night.

Ms Chadwick went on to work with Mr Hinch on his Sky News program Hinch Live, and as a social media campaign manager for Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party.

The pair appeared loved-up on social media, where Ms Chadwick would post pictures of the two of them on outdoor adventures and even in bed together.

In an interview while they were dating, Ms Chadwick confessed she and her boyfriend were occasionally mistaken for father and daughter, but said it didn’t faze either of them.

In a Facebook post following their breakup after two years, which also marked the end of Ms Chadwick’s role as Mr Hinch’s producer, she said she needed to “rebuild my life”.

“I’m devastated but will get through this,” she wrote.

Tweet by Natasha Chadwick the ex girlfriend of Derryn Hinch.

Neither party commented at the time on the reason for their breakup, but the couple’s troubles resurfaced over the weekend with Ms Chadwick launching a Twitter tirade against her former partner.

On Sunday night, Ms Chadwick took to Twitter to lash out at Mr Hinch alleging he was “back on the booze”.

The former alcoholic, who had previously described himself as a “professional drunk”, had sworn off the booze after his transplant.

“Derryn Hinch has been back on booze 12+ months,” she wrote.

“So much for respecting organ donors gift of life.”

She went on to say Mr Hinch’s favourite drop was “cheap Gossips” — an Australian wine that retails for as low as $3.80 per bottle — and accused him of having “no loyalty”.

Ms Chadwick deleted the comments, but stood by her claims.

“Deleted tweets because not my style, in anger I stooped to his low-life antics,” she said.

“All tweets are true. Erasing Hinch from my life.”

Mr Hinch hasn’t commented on the relationship breakdown, but suggested his ex partner had threatened to out him as a drinker.

After being alerted to Ms Chadwick’s tweets and the impending headlines, Mr Hinch released a statement.

“In anticipation of Shock! Horror! headline: ‘Hinch on the booze again’, let me say this,” he wrote.

“Last night I tweeted: ‘HHNF — Hell hath no fury ...’ It was in response to my ex partner threatening to blacken my name by going on Twitter and Facebook to claim I was back no the booze.

“It is true that, even though the Senate dining room and the Hyatt Canberra now stock my Edenvale non-alcoholic wine, I have been known to occasionally drink real wine with the permission of my transplant surgeon Professor Bob Jones.”

Ms Chadwick responded to the statement saying Mr Hinch was “playing down” his habit.

“Not surprised. Not always diluted. Not only special occasions. But ... he’s a politician. Lies are acceptable,” she tweeted.

Senator Derryn Hinch has defended drinking watered-down wine. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP

Speaking on Melbourne radio station 3AW, Mr Hinch revealed the reason for the dramatic breakup.

He said he had travelled to Sydney on the weekend to open the Transplant Games, and annual event hosted by Transplant Australia, Ms Chadwick’s former employer.

“My now ex used to work for Transplant Australia. She felt that they had betrayed her and she felt it was an act of betrayal for me to work at the Transplant Games,” he said.

Mr Hinch said he had received the “bunny boiler treatment” from his ex, and accused her of setting out to embarrass and hurt him.

In her interview with Sky, Ms Chadwick described this as “a very unfair thing to say”.

“I was told ‘I’ll get you’ and my ex partner has got me,” Mr Hinch said.

“She’s got what she wanted.”

Mr Hinch said he was scheduled to travel to Queenstown, New Zealand, where Ms Chadwick now lives. “But now I’m not,” he said.

Mr Hinch has again this morning defended his drinking, saying he only drinks diluted wine and non-alcoholic beer, at the recommendation of his doctor.

In his statement last night he said he also drank “ultra light”, non-alcoholic beer, vowing to keep his consumption levels in check to avoid meeting the same fate as the late George Best, the Manchester United footballer who sparked debate over whether alcoholics deserved liver transplants.

Best received a liver transplant in 2002, but died of a kidney infection three years later after picking up the bottle again.

“He jumped the queue for a liver transplant. Was arrested for drinking and driving 18 months later and was dead within two years,” Mr Hinch said, noting that he had interviewed Best’s widow and was well aware of the risks; “I am not stupid.”

“I have so much to achieve in the Senate, I won’t be making that mistake,” he concluded.

“I’m sorry that a breakup has led to this, but, that’s life.”

The “break up beat up”, as Mr Hinch labelled the story in a tweet, is only the latest of his relationship fallouts to take place in the public arena.

The former radio heavyweight has been married several times before, including to Australian actor Jacki Weaver.

When he and Ms Chadwick met he had separated from fourth wife Chanel Hayton and was going through divorce.

He has said he felt hurt “in more ways than one” by his partner’s revenge, and admitted he’s broken his “perfect record” of remaining amicable with all his exes.

“This will be the exception, sadly,” he said.