Jodi Gordon reflects on her battle with booze and depression after admitting ‘alcohol is my poison’

Neighbours star Jodi Gordon has spoken out after revealing she was battling alcohol abuse and depression in the latest edition of Stellar Magazine 

Uploading her Stellar cover photo to Instagram on Sunday, Jodi, 37, shared the brave reason why she decided to lift the lid on her private struggles. 

‘Recovery is all encompassing, consistent with diet, exercise, meditation and mental health are all a huge part of my life today,’ she wrote.

‘My sincere hope for doing this interview was to unapologetically declare who I truely am, to help others with shame reduction around adverse life experiences and that all people understand no matter what we go through in life, even if it appears to be impossible we don’t have to do it alone and there is always help available.’

Jodi went on to thank vitamin company Life Botanics for not dumping her as an ambassador despite her struggles. 

‘I’d like to share my immense gratitude to @life_botanics for standing by me. Your products are a testament as to why I’m feeling so good,’ she added.

Candid: ‘Recovery is all encompassing, consistent with diet, exercise, meditation and mental health are all a huge part of my life today,’ she wrote

‘It’s refreshing to be an advocate for a company that believes in having integrity and loyalty rather than just creating the illusion of it.

‘Sending everyone love, especially those who have supported me unconditionally and loved me back to life. I’ve never taken any it for granted,’ she added. 

In her Stellar interview, the former Neighbours star said she was in ‘a dark place’ before recently completing a 30-day ‘immersion therapy’ program at an exclusive clinic in Sydney.

‘Alcohol is definitely my poison’: In her Stellar interview, the former Neighbours star said she was in ‘a dark place’ before recently completing a 30-day ‘immersion therapy’ program at an exclusive clinic in Sydney

‘Alcohol is definitely my poison. I’ve chased this illusion that I can drink like a normal person for far too long,’ she told the magazine. 

‘It got really bad when I was doing Neighbours. In my industry, I think there’s a lot of keeping up with appearances. I was trying to present something beyond [what] I could pretend to control, trying to do my best, but just sinking.’

Jodi explained that her mental health suffered and she was reluctant to seek help at first. 

‘I’d been in this really dark place of depression on and off over the years. But the place that I was in before I went into rehab was a really dark place,’ she said.

 ‘It’s a place where I was so far down this well – which is what I call it – that it’s really hard to think, to hear, to see any form of light or to be able to connect with anyone, let alone to reach out or talk to anyone.  

‘I let someone help me make that choice and I booked myself in… begrudgingly, but within a couple of days, I knew I was right where I belonged’.  

Gordon, known for her roles in Neighbours and Home and Away, recently completed the ‘immersion therapy’ program in the wake of her bitter break-up with prominent investment banker Sebastian Blackler.

Support: Jodi explained that her mental health suffered and she was reluctant to seek help at first. ‘I’d been in this really dark place of depression on and off over the years. But the place that I was in before I went into rehab was a really dark place,’ she said 

In the aftermath of their split, she checked into The Sydney Retreat in Stanmore, where clients are offered a ’30-day recovery program’ for $8,800.

While she was staying at the clinic, a friend of Gordon’s told Daily Mail Australia of her situation: ‘Jodi is in a sensitive state.’

At Windsor Local Court last month, Magistrate Leanne Robinson ordered that Gordon and Blackler, her boyfriend of 18 months, not contact each other until April 2024.

Better: Jodi checked into The Sydney Retreat in Stanmore, where clients are offered a ’30-day recovery program’ for $8,800. ‘I let someone help me make that choice and I booked myself in… begrudgingly, but within a couple of days, I knew I was right where I belonged’ she said

Another condition of the AVOs taken out by police against the couple – and consented to by their lawyers without admissions – forbids them from stalking, harassing or assaulting one another.

The AVOs relate to an alleged altercation on April 3 in far north-western Sydney.

NSW Police were called to a bed and breakfast on the Sunday morning and arrested Blackler but later released him without charge.

Ex: Jodi, who is best known for playing Elly Conway on Neighbours between 2016 and 2020, was previously married to rugby league footballer Braith Anasta, 40, between 2012 and 2015. Pictured together in 2011

Court documents reportedly said when police asked Blackler, 31, about bruising and swelling to his left eye, he allegedly claimed his girlfriend ‘hit him with a wine bottle’, but declined to make a formal statement.

Jodi, who is best known for playing Elly Conway on Neighbours between 2016 and 2020, was previously married to rugby league footballer Braith Anasta, 40, between 2012 and 2015. 

The actress, who has recently starred on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, shares daughter, Aleeia, eight, with Anasta.   

Family: The actress, who has recently starred on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, shares daughter, Aleeia, eight (pictured), with Anasta