Australian TV veteran Kerri-Anne Kennerley has spoken for the first time about a harrowing encounter with her ex-husband.
In an interview in which she also confessed to cocaine use, the 64-year-old said she once pointed a gun at abusive ex-husband Jimmy Miller and was prepared to kill him.
Speaking to Channel Seven’s Sunday Night, she says the US record producer’s brutal physical and emotional abuse led her to entertain the deadly escape plan.
‘I will shoot you if you come near me’: Kerri-Anne Kennerley reveals she pointed gun at abusive ex-husband Jimmy Miller
Shock revelation: Kerri-Anne said she once pointed a gun at abusive ex-husband Jimmy Miller (pictured with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger) and was prepared to kill him
The Good Morning Australia veteran spoke of a marriage that started as a fairy-tale romance, but turned into ‘a secret hell.’
After one particularly nasty incident, Kerri-Anne said she decided: ‘Ok, no more,’ remembering Jimmy always kept a loaded .22 rifle above the door in their bedroom.
‘I was actually quite calm about it,’ she recounted, ‘I just went and got the gun, aimed it at him, and said: “if you come anywhere near me, I will shoot you.”‘
Australian icon: Back in the 70s, before things took a dark turn for Kerri-Anne, she lived a charmed life, with wild, star-studded parties a common occurrence
But Jimmy, who was best known for working with acts such as The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, allegedly thought her threat was ‘actually quite funny.’
‘Until he realised that I really was serious, and that I did have a gun, and he knew it was loaded,’ she said.
‘The only thing that stopped me was the thought of 25-years in jail.’
Pushed to the limit: Speaking to Channel Seven’s Sunday Night, she says the US record producer’s brutal physical and emotional abuse led her to entertain the deadly escape plan
Seven interviewer Angela Cox was notably shocked at the Logie Hall Of Fame star’s revelation, probing: ‘Would you actually have pulled the trigger?’
Thinking for a moment, Kerri-Anne replied firmly: ‘I think I probably would have.’
Back in the 70s, before things took a dark turn for the Australian icon, she lived a charmed life, with wild, star-studded parties a common occurrence.
‘The only thing that stopped me was the thought of 25-years in jail’ Kerri-Anne said her marriage to Jimmy started as a fairy-tale romance but turned into ‘a secret hell’
After experiencing success on local TV, she jetted-off to New York, where she claimed she ‘earned her stripes in partying.’
‘There was a lot of stuff going on, cocaine was pretty rife everywhere,’ she recounted, before admitting she’d occasionally use the drug.
‘It’s actually really fabulous,’ Kerri-Anne admitted, ‘But I realised it wasn’t for me because it was too good.’
Happy now: Kerri-Anne with her current husband John