Jackie O was on radio when she stopped to share a personal story.

Jackie O has taken a moment on her morning radio show to discuss a very personal struggle, opening up about her battle with drug addiction, specifically to painkillers, sleeping pills and alcohol. 

The radio star, 49, said it was a private and lengthy experience, which culminated in her taking sick leave from her job for a month, in order to enter rehab. She said she 'lied by omission' when she said the break was due to suffering from long COVID.

Jackie admitted that two years ago she undertook a 12-step, month-long program at the Betty Ford Centre in Palm Springs. 

The radio host said that her descent into addiction began as a way of relieving stress and sadness. She admitted she was taking up to 24 codeine tablets and 12 stillnox a day.

Jackie O and Kyle Sandilands. Image: Instagram.

She has kept this truth to herself until now, prioritising her privacy, but finally decided to be honest with her listeners by reading the prologue of her new memoir The Whole Truth.

"I was scared to tell people and say this out loud, I know people will look at me differently and love me," she said on radio. "I was in a really, really dark place."

"That's what the addiction to your brain, it changes your way of thinking, it doesn't want you to get help, it's so powerful," she said through tears.

"It takes a rock bottom moment to cut yourself off," she added. 

Jackie confirmed that she had spoken to her daughter Kitty, 13, before telling the public of her experience.

"I couldn't be more proud of my daughter, the way she has been about it has been zero judgement, just compassionate and support," she shared.

According to a writer from the Sydney Morning Herald, who helped Jackie pen the memoir, she had turned to the substances when feeling "diminished, untethered and alone."

"By that point, I had no self-esteem, so I was insecure, vulnerable, and heartbroken," she said. "It was a recipe for disaster, and I took the coward's way out to escape those feelings."

Listen to Mia Freedman interview Jackie O on No Filter. Post continues after audio.

In the years following her stint in rehab, Henderson has focused on restoring her health, telling only a few close friends and family, including her manager, personal assistant and parents about her struggle. 

Her KIIS FM costar Kyle Sandilands was not aware of her struggle until this morning's segment. 

However, she says that despite keeping this to herself for so long, she is willing to discuss what she's been through now.

"I can only speak to my experience, because my addiction is so different to anyone else's," she said. "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 okay talking about it. I'm excited that I can be more authentic than I've ever been."

Her memoir will cover this difficult time in her life, as well as her life working alongside Kyle Sandilands, being single in her 40s and the trials and tribulations of hosting a radio show for so many years. 

It comes out on October 29.

Featured image: Instagram.