Jackie O shocks with drug addiction confession

Jackie O broke down in tears on KIIS FM as she revealed she secretly checked into a rehab centre in the US.

Jackie O broke down in tears on radio this morning as she revealed she secretly went to rehab in the US to treat an addiction to pain medication.

The KIIS FM star made the confession on air on Thursday morning, while reading out a chapter from her memoir, The Whole Truth, which hits shelves on Tuesday.

Jackie recalled that she took time off her breakfast radio show in November 2022, telling listeners she had been struggling with fatigue since getting Covid.

But that wasn’t the truth.

“I’ll be checking into the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage,” Jackie read out from her book.

“I’ll be spending 28 days there. I’ve voluntarily 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.”

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O at the 2022 Australian Commercial Radio Awards, the month before Jackie O went into rehab. Picture: Media Mode

Jackie O pictured leaving the KIIS studios this morning after announcing she had been to rehab. Picture: Backgrid

Jackie said she was “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 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.”

“It really did start after my separation from Lee (her ex-husband),” Jackie said, referring to her 2018 split.

“I was struggling a lot with being separated from Kitty (her daughter) 50 per cent of the time.

“I took the cowards way out and thought, I’m going to numb my pain.’”

Jackie O Henderson with her ex husband, Lee, and daughter Kitty.

The radio star “numbed the pain” with Endone, a drug she was first prescribed 15 years earlier for endometriosis.

“I got prescribed that and I found myself at the time taking it more than I needed, and I recognised that … might be a bit of a problem,” she said. “And so I stopped.

“Then years later once my marriage broke down I went back to it as a way to kind of go to some happy place.”

Jackie eventually agreed to seek help after telling her best friend, Gemma O’Neill, about her addiction.

“I was in tears one day and I had to tell Gemma for reasons that are in the book,” Jackie said.

“She (Gemma) said, ‘I’m sorry, Jackie, but you are not going to taper off this, it’ll never work. I’m checking you into rehab at the end of the week.’”

Jackie initially resisted, telling Gemma, “don’t be ridiculous, that is such overkill.”

But eventually she agreed.

“Thank God there was someone out there like her because I believe she saved my life,” Jackie said.

Jackie 'O' Henderson on her KIIS FM breakfast show.

The confession came as a shock to Kyle, with Jackie confirming only her best friend and immediate family members were aware of her rehab treatment at the time.

“Did Kitty know?” Kyle asked his longtime co-host, referring to Jackie’s 13 year old daughter.

“Kitty didn’t know,” Jackie said. “On the days I had Kitty, they were harder because I was withdrawing.”

Jackie said she only came clean to her daughter recently as she didn’t want her to find out through her memoir.

“First of all, she said, ‘mum, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even know,’” Jackie recalled.

The KIIS FM star then asked Kitty if she was worried other kids were going to give her a hard time as a result of the admission.

“She said, ‘mum, if they say anything or judge you, that’s not a friend I want to have in my life.’”

Jackie O is set to release her memoir next week. Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

The good news is that the rehab treatment worked, and Jackie proudly announced on air that she has been sober for two years.

“I can’t believe how much my life changed when I did go to rehab and got treatment, and really sort of worked on myself,” she said.

“Life changed for me in the most positive way. I could never imagine being this happy and I didn’t think that was possible.”

Jackie’s book, The Whole Truth, will be released on Tuesday next week.

Originally published as Jackie O shocks with drug addiction confession