Andrew O’Keefe’s downward spiral: TV host says life felt ‘meaningless’

Television presenter Andrew O’Keefe has laid bare his private mental health battle, admitting life felt ‘meaningless’ after he separated from wife Eleanor in late 2017.

In an extraordinarily candid interview with Sunrise, the 48-year-old said he found himself ‘questioning what [life] is all about’ and even hinted that he’d self-medicated with drugs and alcohol. 

At the start of the segment, host David Koch told Andrew he had been ‘worried about [him] for the last year or two’, prompting the former Deal or No Deal host to open up about his ‘demons’. 

‘Everyone hits a part of their life where they really question what it’s all about and who they really are and what they have done for the last four or five years and whether it means anything,’ he said.

‘And I think, when I split up with my wife, that was my time, and the thing I always believed in most of all was the power of love and combining with someone to make something special, and when I lost that, I thought it was all meaningless.’

Andrew – who shares three children with his ex-wife, Barnaby, 15, Rory, 12, and Olivia, eight – then hinted that he made poor choices following his marriage breakdown.

Dark times: In an extraordinarily candid interview with Sunrise, the 48-year-old said he found himself ‘questioning what [life] is all about’ and even hinted that he’d self-medicated with drugs and alcohol

He said: ‘In life, we have several choices on how to deal with things, and some people work their way through their pain, or turn to alcohol or drugs or eating.

‘And I feel very lucky that in this country, we have these institutions and the expertise to be able to deal with those things and get on top of it.’

Andrew added that he will be channeling his recent difficulties into his new stage show, which is based on the life of Australian rock ‘n’ roll legend Johnny O’Keefe.  

Open: Andrew said, ‘In life, we have choices on how to deal with things, and some people work their way through their pain, or turn to alcohol or drugs or eating. And I feel very lucky that in this country, we have these institutions and the expertise to be able to deal with those things’

‘My old buddy’: Following his appearance on Sunrise, Andrew posed for a friendly selfie with the show’s co-host, Sam Armytage

Earlier this month, Andrew told the Herald Sun that he had entered a mental health facility for eight weeks after taking a leave of absence from The Chase in April.

He said: ‘We all use different methods to escape from the most uncomfortable parts of our existence and I certainly was not using the most healthy ones.

‘I mean sleep would have been handy… The diet could have been better, fluids that had no decimal points in them would have been good.’ 

Reflecting on his decision to seek treatment, he added: ‘I just could not see that I had the time or the strength to change that without removing myself entirely from the world for a bit.’ 

Andrew claimed that spending time in the clinic had helped him to address his ‘unhelpful behaviours’.

After stepping away from The Chase in April, he resumed filming the next month.

Treatment: Earlier this month, Andrew told the Herald Sun that he had entered a mental health facility for eight weeks after taking a leave of absence from The Chase in April

In September 2018, Woman’s Day published photos of the then newly-separated TV personality kissing a young woman during a wild night out in Hobart, Tasmania. 

According to the magazine, the footage was captured while Andrew was ‘partying for 48 hours’ non-stop. 

‘I am not the only person who has gone out and had a big night and done things that, in the light of day, look a little silly,’ Andrew later said of the incident.

Andrew made headlines yet again in March this year when he lashed out at a photographer while leaving court. 

Kiss and tell! In September 2018, Woman’s Day published photos of the then newly-separated TV personality kissing a young woman during a wild night out in Hobart, Tasmania

Andrew was quick to deny he’d hit the photographer, however. 

‘Mate, if a photographer chooses to get in the way of my folder, that’s the photographer’s fault,’ he said.

Andrew was in court after being pulled over driving a green 1968 MGB Mark II convertible in Vaucluse, Sydney on September 3, 2018.

When asked if the vehicle was registered, Andrew said it was in his estranged wife Eleanor’s name. The registration had expired one month earlier.

Controversy: Andrew made headlines yet again in March this year when he lashed out at a photographer while leaving court. He was quick to deny he’d hit the photographer, however

Andrew, who previously worked as a lawyer, pleaded guilty in court but explained that he did not know the vehicle was unregistered.

In an unrelated incident in May 2017, Andrew displayed unusual behaviour while hosting an episode of Weekend Sunrise.

He looked rather tired during the live broadcast and, at times, his speech appeared to be slurred and he slouched in his chair. 

• If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.  
• For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit a local branch. See www.samaritans.org for details.
• For confidential support in Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au. Alternatively, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800