Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has today opened up about a private battle she had with drug addiction in an emotional statement live on air this morning.
Until this morning, there was only a small handful of people who knew about the extent of Henderson’s struggles, which saw her voluntarily enrol in a treatment program in the Betty Ford Centre in Palm Springs, California in November 2022.
But there was one person who stood by her side for every moment: her best friend and manager Gemma O’Neill to whom Henderson credits her life.
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Reading from her upcoming memoir Jackie O: The Whole Truth, the 49-year-old radio host revealed it was O’Neill, 41, who encouraged her to seek treatment, helped pack her bags and accompanied her on the more than 12,000km journey to Palm Springs.
Reflecting on the difficult period, Henderson told her co-host Kyle Sandilands and newsreader Brooklyn Ross that if it wasn’t for O’Neill she might not be here today.
“I believe she saved my life, I actually do,” Henderson shared. “And I think we all need a friend like that.”
Watch the video above.
Thankfully Henderson had O’Neill by her side throughout a really difficult period in her life but the duo have shared countless ups and downs over more than 20 years of friendship.
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Here’s a look into the duo’s decades-long friendship.
How did Jackie O and Gemma O’Neill meet?
O’Neill, who is eight years Henderson’s junior, met Henderson for the first time when she was in high school and working on the reception desk at the radio station Henderson was working at at the time.
“Gemma was in a school uniform when I met her, cause I’m a little bit older than Gem,” Henderson told Studio 10’s Angela Bishop in an interview last year.
“And she was at reception on the radio station I was working at at the time and we met that way.
“She’s just always been a really passionate kind of person and gone after her goals and so she just went from a school kid wanting to get into radio to running a whole radio network all these years later.”
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Since they met, O’Neill went onto become the head of SCA’s Hit Network and was the executive producer of The Kyle and Jackie O Show for a period, which Henderson says helped them “get to know each other really well”.
Gemma is Jackie O’s manager
Colleagues first, friends second, O’Neill and Henderson have consistently managed to balance their personal lives and their work lives in their friendship.
Since starting a talent management company Gemmie Agency in 2022, O’Neill has worked as Henderson’s manager – helping to coordinate her business ventures.
The Besties side hustle
Last year, the duo took another business step together and formed a new side hustle together – a company called Besties.
Henderson revealed the news of the duo’s new company on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
“The name of the company is Besties. We will offer a space where best friends come together for exclusive guest speaker events, private holidays and luxe products – all for you and your BFF,” she said.
Last year the duo even teamed up with American actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow inviting her to be guest speaker at a besties event in Sydney last October.
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The Besties brand has this year become home to the Her Best Life podcast, hosted by the two best friends.
“We both spend hours chatting together every week, so we figured we may as well start a podcast for women, just like us and share our findings along the way in a funny and unfiltered way. We wanted the listener to feel like they are sitting on the couch with us,” Henderson and O’Neill shared of their podcast.
Holiday time
But it’s not all business for the longtime besties. Over their more than 20 years of friendship, the duo have shared countless memories together.
They’ve gone on countless trips together, including one memorable Christmas they spent in Fiji together in 2022.
“On Christmas Day we went to a local village on another island,” O’Neill told Women’s Weekly of the trip.
“We’d bought gifts; things they needed like soccer balls, colouring-in stuff and spent Christmas with them. We wanted the kids to experience that and be part of it and I’m really glad we did,” Henderson added.
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Navigating heartbreak
Both Henderson and O’Neill found themselves navigating the end of their marriages around the same time – an experience that saw their bond grow even stronger.
“It’s nice to have a single friend who’s been through what you have and is a similar age,” Jackie told Women’s Weekly.
“It definitely helps. It’s no fun if you’re single and everyone else is married or in a relationship. That is when you feel really alone. So having another friend that is in the same position has made it so much easier.”
Highs and lows
The duo truly have navigated some of the highest highs and the lowest lows.
“We’ve been besties for over 20 years and have lived through terrible fashion choices, husbands, moving houses (again and again!), holidays, babies, novice tarot card readings, swimming with sharks, dancing around the living room to our favourite songs and of course lots of tears and lots more laughter,” Henderson shared of O’Neill in an Instagram post announcing their new business Besties.
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Gemma ‘changed’ Jackie O’s life
The value of Henderson and O’Neill’s bond feels even more poignant now with Henderson’s recent news.
In a video shared to Instagram last year, the duo alluded to “that low point in 2022” which we now know was the radio presenter’s battle with addiction.
In the video, Henderson shared that “Gemma was the only one” who “had the guts to say ‘It’s not OK what’s happening'”.
We now know that what followed was O’Neill booking Henderson into a treatment facility to get the help she needed. It was a move Henderson is immensely grateful for.
“A bestie is someone who not only is there for the good times and wants to laugh and travel and do all these wonderful things together but they’re there for the difficult times,” Henderson shared.
“And sometimes it’s hard to say to a friend, ‘I’m not OK with what’s going on right now and I just know you can be so much better’. That’s really what Gemma did for me. And she changed my life; I will forever owe so much to this beautiful girl.”
If you or someone you know would like to talk to someone confidentially about addiction, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Reach Out. In an emergency, call 000.