Jackie O Henderson vows to donate all memoir profits to rehab charity Odyssey House after revealing drug addiction battle

4 weeks ago 8

Following her bombshell drug addiction revelations last week radio star host Jackie “O” Henderson has announced she will donate 100 per cent of the profits of her memoir to charity to help others battling similar issues.

The co-host of KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O co-host, who last week opened up about her three-year drug addiction ordeal, released her book The Whole Truth on Tuesday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Jackie O bravely shares drug addiction battle.

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The memoir goes into detail about her struggles and describes how she checked into the Betty Ford Clinic in 2022 to combat the addiction.

Last week on air, Henderson tearfully described how she was “badly addicted” to painkillers, sleeping pills and consuming alcohol for three years, delivering her story by reading aloud from the memoir.

Jackie O with her new memoir The Whole Truth.

On Monday she posted on Instagram a response to the messages she had received since her admission, noting that while she was lucky enough to afford the ritzy US-based clinic to recover, not all addicts had this luxury.

“Since sharing my story last week, I’ve been deeply moved by the thousands of messages I’ve received from people facing challenges similar to mine but unable to afford rehab,” she began.

“I was fortunate enough to have access to treatment and I recognise how privileged that makes me.

“Unfortunately, not everyone has the same opportunity. Which is why all my profits from my book, which is on sale tomorrow, will be donated to Odyssey House Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre.”

The 47-year-old rehab service Odyssey House is Australia’s largest and has built a network of specialised withdrawal and rehabilitation programs through residential and community service hubs across Greater Sydney and the NSW Southern Highlands.

“The work they do is powerful, important and transformative,” Henderson said in her post.

“Thank you to everyone who has shared their personal stories with me.

“I’m still reading through your messages and will do my best to respond to each one,” she added.

During her addiction, Henderson said she felt “diminished, untethered and alone”.

“By that point, I had no self-esteem, so I was insecure, vulnerable, and heartbroken,” she read on the show last week.

“It was a recipe for disaster, and I took the coward’s way out to escape those feelings.”

Only a very small group of friends knew of Henderson’s struggles, with co-host Kyle Sandilands also learning the news at the same time as the public on Thursday’s show.

“I just didn’t want anyone to know until I had at least gotten a year or more of sobriety under my belt,” Henderson said.

“I can only speak to my experience because my addiction is so different to anyone else’s.

“But people can ask me anything they want, and I’m OK with that. I brought this up, I put it out there myself, so I’m well and truly OK talking about it. I’m excited that I can be more authentic than I’ve ever been.”

Henderson recalled how in November 2022 she had left the radio show three weeks earlier than they were expected to wrap up for the year.

“But I know I won’t make it that far, I’m hanging on by a thread,” she read from her book.

On the Friday afternoon she recorded a message to be played Monday morning as if she was in the studio, telling her audience she was sick and taking some time off.

“I’m nervous about this prerecord because I’m not going to be telling the whole truth to our listeners,” she said.

“There’s only one thing to do today, get on a plane for Los Angeles. My best friend and manager Gemma O’Neill is with me … she tells me I won’t need any fancy dresses where I’m going.”

Henderson said she had lunch with O’Neill the day of their flight and being “teary”.

“Not because I don’t want to go on this journey but because I don’t have the faintest idea what it will be like and that scares me.”

Jackie O reads from her upcoming memoir.

At the Betty Ford Centre she was enrolled in a 28-day, 12-step program to “treat the substance dependence and drug addiction I’ve been able to keep secret for three long and painful years”.

She told Sandilands she consumed her final tablet “the day of” checking into rehab, explaining that facility staff had said it was “too dangerous” to attempt to quit beforehand.

The 49-year-old said there were “lots of different reasons” for her addiction, but did not go into any on-air.

Wiping away her tears, she said she was “not crying because I’m ashamed, I’m crying because I kept this in for so long ... saying this out loud is scary”.

Henderson said she went back and forth about whether to share her story but decided to make it public, “to use my story to help people”.

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