Shock pictures show Jackie ‘O’ Henderson sitting in a gutter smoking a cigarette moments before checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction

Shock pictures show Jackie 'O' Henderson sitting in a gutter smoking a cigarette moments before checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction

As I delve into the heart-wrenching story of Jackie O’Henderson, I am left in awe of her indomitable spirit and resilience. Her memoir, The Whole Truth, is a poignant testament to the trials and tribulations she faced during her battle with addiction.


I, a devoted admirer, can’t help but share the revelation made by Jackie ‘O’ Henderson about the staggering depths of her past struggle with substance abuse. Stunningly candid photographs, captured just prior to her rehabilitation, have shed light on this chapter in her life that she’s bravely opened up about.

Photos depict a 49-year-old radio personality, seeking treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic for substance abuse issues in 2022, are taken as she waits in a parking lot near the admissions office, taking her last puff from a cigarette while awaiting the outcome of a Covid test.

Another image shows Jackie flying business class as she travels ‘incognito on the way to California and rehab’.

In her recently published memoir titled “The Whole Truth,” previously undisclosed photographs are revealed, detailing the radio personality’s long history of drug abuse.

In her memoir, Jackie describes how she began consuming codeine pills along with wine as a means to detach herself from the real world.

Initially, things were relaxed, but eventually, they weren’t. In truth, during difficult periods over the years, I would visit the pharmacy and buy Nurofen Plus for relief, but now it’s changed, she explains.

For quite some time, I’d been consuming approximately ten Nurofen Plus tablets together on various occasions. As my addiction grew stronger, I found myself increasing the dosage to three or four times that amount, multiple times per day.

After her divorce from Lee Henderson, who she was married to from 2003 to 2018, Jackie’s addiction started spiraling out of control.

Shock pictures show Jackie 'O' Henderson sitting in a gutter smoking a cigarette moments before checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction

Her divorce led to significantly reduced time spent with her 13-year-old daughter, Kitty, causing her intense periods of sorrow and grief.

To help deal with my feelings of solitude and remorse, I found myself making yet another poor choice. On the days when I was by myself, I started taking sleeping pills, specifically Stilnox, as a means to dull the sense of loneliness.

Instead of facing the pain head-on, they chose to escape into something that was gradually turning into a dependency, seeking solace where it should not have been found.

In the year 2018, the Australian administration started enforcing stricter regulations on buying over-the-counter painkillers containing codeine, making it necessary to have a prescription before purchase.

Shock pictures show Jackie 'O' Henderson sitting in a gutter smoking a cigarette moments before checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction
Shock pictures show Jackie 'O' Henderson sitting in a gutter smoking a cigarette moments before checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction

In no time at all, Jackie found a way to acquire a more potent codeine painkiller, Panadeine Forte, from a connection. From then on, she started taking fewer pills to achieve the same level of euphoria.

As a lifestyle advisor, I’d share this insight: In my personal experience, I gradually reduced my dependence on certain substances on days I spent with my child, yet unfortunately, my body had developed an unwanted addiction to these drugs beforehand.

Jackie mentions that if she goes for a few hours without them, her hands will start to quiver and shudder. She also experiences cold shivers, abdominal pains, feelings of sickness, and diarrhea coming on much faster than one might expect.

‘If I didn’t want to feel dizzy and faint, I needed something to get me through.’

In her memoir, Jackie also shares that she would take significant measures to mask her addiction from her friends, describing methods she used to secretly store and discard empty pill containers hidden within her household.

Shock pictures show Jackie 'O' Henderson sitting in a gutter smoking a cigarette moments before checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction

Instead of throwing them away in a trash bin, she chose to keep them in a white plastic bag for two weeks. Later, as she went to work, she would discard her accumulated waste anonymously in a nearby bin.

The celebrated figure shared details about her significant weight increase that occurred during her struggle with addiction, attributing it to frequent consumption of a bottle of wine or a G&T alongside Stilnox, and daily orders from food delivery services like UberEats throughout the pandemic.

At the close of 2022, Jackie had been consuming one pack of Panadeine Forte daily, specifically six pills in each instance, administered four times throughout the day. Additionally, she was taking an entire box of Stilnox, with each box containing 10 tablets.

One lazy Sunday morning, Jackie found remnants of her UberEats meal from the previous night scattered on the floor next to her bed, a nearly empty glass of gin and tonic, and cigarette butts in an ashtray. During this time, her drug supplier contacted her to inform her that they had been apprehended and could no longer provide her with painkillers.

She confided in her best friend, Gemma O’Neill, who quickly checked Jackie into the Betty Ford Clinic, located two hours from Los Angeles.

Jackie revealed her departure from the Kyle & Jackie radio show prior to her trip to California with Gemma. While boarding the plane, she donned a hat, sunglasses, and a facial mask as a disguise during their extended flight.

Jackie shares her account of undergoing detox at the facility, detailing the withdrawal symptoms she encountered during the initial phase of rehabilitation.

For nearly two weeks, I felt more than the usual excitement, it was something unsettling yet hard to pinpoint. An unnerving apprehension that made my skin crawl, a constant discomfort that would twitch and fidget, and a puzzling restlessness that wouldn’t let me find peace.

In 2022, when Jackie went on a hiatus from the program, Kyle Sandilands informed listeners that she was temporarily leaving to prioritize her health following a COVID-19 infection.

Shock pictures show Jackie 'O' Henderson sitting in a gutter smoking a cigarette moments before checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol addiction

Jackie confessed that she felt embarrassed about her hidden issue, worrying about people’s opinions, but eventually sought assistance when she reached the lowest point in her life.

Additionally, she disclosed that she sought approval from her daughter Kitty before making her personal story public and commended Kitty for showing her kindness.

Jackie expressed nothing but pride for her daughter, as she’s handled everything with an unwavering lack of judgment, instead showing only kindness and support,” is one possible paraphrase of the original statement.

Jackie expressed a desire to openly discuss her struggle with addiction, aiming to lessen the perceived shame associated with substance abuse and make it more accepted in society.

The speaker expressed regret for not sharing her past health challenges earlier, but also shared that she would soon celebrate two years of being sober.

She expressed her sincere apologies to our audience and everyone in her life, stating that she had to prioritize focusing on that aspect, specifically the recovery process, initially.

The Whole Truth by Jackie ‘O’ Henderson is available in stores and online now.

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2024-10-29 06:04

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