Ricky Nixon has explained what happened during his devastating emotional breakdown after losing close friend Danny Frawley to suicide.
The former leading AFL player agent, 56, was rushed to hospital last month after posting worrying messages on social media in which he said ‘that’s life, goodbye’.
Nixon has now revealed that he could barely sleep after Frawley crashed his car into a tree the day after his 56th birthday and another friend took his own life.
Former footballer Ricky Nixon with his fiance Melissa Huynh said he drank three bottles of wine in just 15 minutes
‘I’d been sleeping on the sofa for about two weeks and only for an hour each night thinking about these guys,’ Nixon told The Australian.
‘I just didn’t want to talk to people; I didn’t want to see the world.’
He said he suffered severe depression and on the night he was hospitalised he downed three bottles of wine in 15 minutes and had a row with his fiance.
Nixon’s life sprialled out of control following the death of his best friend Danny Frawley (middle)
‘She said some things she regrets, and so did I,’ he said.
He then took to social media where he made some worrying posts about his life.
The first said he had broken up with his fiancee and that she had ‘no idea how bad he was struggling’.
‘My best mate suicided think I’ll go with him this place is a c***. That (sic) life goodbye,’ he wrote.
The second simply read ‘I’ve tried, goodbye’ and the third ‘f*** [you] all I’m going [with] Danny good riddance’.
Nixon was taken to The Alfred Hospital for assessment from his Port Melbourne flat.
He was diagnosed with an episode of ‘situational depression’.
Two weeks ago on October 15, Nixon (pictured) polished off three bottles of win in just 15 minutes and was then caught in a bitter argument with his fiancee Melissa
The following night, he took to Facebook to update his fans on his mental state.
‘Firstly I’m ok. I apologise for alarming everyone last night yes it’s been blown out of proportion but it’s been coming and I’m glad it’s off my chest,’ he wrote.
‘I spent time with ‘Spud’ Frawley face to face in the lead up to his passing and of course wish I could have done more but I can’t. I’ll move on.
‘Melissa Huynh has been amazing right beside me all the way and I’ll be there for her when she needs me.’
The former St Kilda star made three Facebook posts between 5.40pm and 5.54pm on October 15 indicating he wanted to take his own life
‘Melissa Huynh has been amazing right beside me all the way and I’ll be there for her when she needs me,’ Nixon (right) wrote
Nixon said he felt he couldn’t show any weakness because of his position as a football agent.
He gave all the warning signs that he wasn’t quite coping with the death of his great mate Danny Frawley.
When the man lovingly known as ‘Spud’ took his own life on September 9, those closest to him looked back and thought they too probably missed the signs.
Ricky Nixon (left) was taken to hospital after making suicidal threats on social media.
Nixon’s posts referenced Danny Frawley’s (left) death in a single-car crash in Millbrook, Victoria
A week before his three concerning posts, Nixon, nicknamed ‘Chicken’ since his days playing with St Kilda and Hawthorn, gave his followers on Facebook an ominous warning that he wasn’t coping.
‘Driving along listening to Radio then this Elton John No.1 Song ‘Daniel’ came on bought me to tears,’ he wrote.
‘Daniel is traveling tonight on a planeI can see the red tail lights heading for SpainOh and I can see Daniel waving goodbyeGod it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes.’
The post was littered with typos, much like the rambling tweets that saw police take him away in handcuffs on Tuesday night.
At Frawley’s funeral on September 18, Nixon looked unwell – his face blood red.
The pair were teammates at St Kilda for six seasons from 1986-91 and became close friends.
‘Spud was my mate my captain my soul – always there for me now I can’t be there for him,’ a devastated Nixon posted on Facebook on the night of Frawley’s death.
Nixon said he couldn’t deal with the loss of his friend Danny Frawley as well as another friend whom he met earlier this year (pictured with fiance Melissa)
Ricky Nixon had been on the road in his new mental health check vans. Nixon had claimed he had been given a ‘new life’ and had turned the corner after years of despair
The day after Frawley’s funeral, Nixon took to the stage at the MCG for the Toccolan Footy Luncheon – a charity event that featured former AFL greats Matthew Richardson, Nicky Winmar, Diesel Williams and AFLW star Jesse Hoskins.
Nixon smiled for photos and posted them on Facebook.
Days later he was back in his Vital Health Checks van where he visited people struggling with their own mental health issues in Bendigo – in country Victoria.
Like Frawley, who was a champion for highlighting mental health issues, Nixon felt he needed to help too.
He recently told ex-Herald Sun sport reporter Ron Reed he was: ‘absolutely hell-bent on doing something in this world to make sure I can help people’.
It has seen Nixon embark on converting ambulances into mobile health studios – physical and mental health – which enable people in workplaces to have 20-minute check-ups.
He recently told a luncheon he got out of bed every morning with a positive attitude.
‘You have to understand yourself … I understand that I’m an adrenaline junkie and I know when the ‘go’ light goes on. I can go a month without a drink, then I’ll have 6,000 and I know it’s not good for your body or for your family so I manage it. It’s just happiness … at the end of the day, all that matters is your happiness. People who live the longest are those who are happiest. If it’s not going too well for you don’t be scared to go talk to someone, to get a bit of help.’
Nixon was one of the leading figures on the AFL scene during the 1990s and 2000s as he ushered in an era of professional management of players, working with some of the game’s top players such as Wayne Carey and Gary Ablett Snr to greatly boost their marketing value.
After being caught up in a scandal involving a schoolgirl who had relationships with some St Kilda players, Nixon admitted his life went off the rails with drug and alcohol abuse and the collapse of his management empire.
Nixon and fiancee Melissa Huynh in happier times. Nixon made threats to self harm on social media and police rushed to help him
Nixon took to social media last month to say that he and his fiancee Melissa Huynh had split