Swimming star Grant Hackett has moved to Melbourne to be closer to his two children as he fights a custody battle.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist relocated form the Gold Coast late last month after returning from the U.S. in June where he spent a month in rehab.
Hackett was seeking a fresh start after a series of alcohol-fuelled disasters over the past two years that destroyed his public image.
Swimming star Grant Hackett has moved to Melbourne (pictured there at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction in October) to be closer to his two children as he fights a custody battle
The 37-year-old has twins Jagger and Charlize, seven, with ex-wife Candice Alley (all four pictured), who he split with in 2012 after five years of marriage
The 37-year-old has twins Jagger and Charlize, seven, with ex-wife Candice Alley, who he split with in 2012 after five years of marriage.
Spotted outside his new gym, Hackett wouldn’t discuss the ongoing custody battle but said his move to Melbourne, where he works for wealth management company Austock Life, was going well.
‘I am loving being back in Melbourne again. I feel great and am really happy to be back working and staying fit and healthy,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
Hackett claimed to have sworn of alcohol, calling it a ‘destructive’ influence, and was working on staying sober and being a better family man.
‘Grant’s determined to work on that relationship with his kids more than anything else in his life right now,’ a close friend said.
‘He’s facing a tough battle though but he’s doing well.’
Hackett posted a photo of himself on Instagram in February after a fistfight with his brother Craig, sporting a black eye and bloody face and saying his brother had ‘beat the s**t out of me’
Hackett wouldn’t discuss the ongoing custody battle but said his move to Melbourne, where he works for wealth management company Austock Life, was going well
He was regularly swimming to maintain his trim and muscular figure, but ruled out a competitive comeback or involvement with Swimming Australia.
Hackett’s downward spiral began in April 2016 when he was questioned by police after allegedly groping a man’s nipple on a flight.
In February he was arrested after a fistfight with his brother Craig at his parents’ home on the Gold Coast, but was released without charge.
He was said to be ‘going off’ and ‘stabbing a chopping board’ before disappearing for several days.
Hackett posted a photo of himself on Instagram a day after his arrest, sporting a black eye and bloody face and saying his brother had ‘beat the s**t out of me’.
Hackett spent a few months after rehab living with friend and U.S. swim star Michael Phelps (pictured training together)
He also played with Phelps’ son Boomer (pictured) and went on family road trips
The sporting icon returned to Australia in time to mourn his friend and retired ironman Dean Mercer, who died from a heart attack in August (pictured left at memorial)
The next month he admitted he needed help and fled the country to a 30-day stint in rehab to treat his alcohol and sleeping pill dependency and mental health issues.
He then spent a few months living with friend and U.S. swim star Michael Phelps, training together and playing with Phelps’ son Boomer.
Hackett also sailed around Bermuda with former ironman Ky Hurst and did a charity swim in the Cayman Islands.
The sporting icon returned to Australia in time to mourn his friend and retired ironman Dean Mercer, who died from a heart attack in August.
Hackett in March admitted he needed help and fled the country to a 30-day stint in rehab to treat his alcohol and sleeping pill dependency and mental health issues