One suck of an ice pipe led me to lose my family, my health, my wealth – and even turned parts of my brain black. This is what troubled TV star Andrew O’Keefe needs to hear before it’s too late

A former millionaire who lost everything to ice addiction has offered to ‘lend a hand’ to troubled ex-TV star Andrew O’Keefe, claiming he is capable of redemption and a return to the small screen.

Last week, the former host of Deal or No Deal was once again in the news when he was charged with allegedly threatening a man and driving under the influence of drugs.

Police officers stopped the 52-year-old on Cranbrook Road in Sydney‘s affluent suburb of Bellevue Hill at 11.45am last Sunday after he allegedly appeared ‘drug-affected’ behind the wheel of a Mercedes sedan.

He returned a positive roadside test and officers discovered an ice pipe in his jacket pocket. O’Keefe denied it was his, and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest otherwise. 

The former quiz show king’s fall from grace and very public battle with addiction – which has seen him go into rehabilitation more than ten times – is a tale all too depressingly familiar to Andrea Simmons.

She too once had it all: a family, a $1.4million home and millions in the bank before a nightmarish plunge into ice addiction stripped her of everything, reducing her to a petty thief who scavenged discarded cigarette butts. 

‘I would love the opportunity to talk with Andrew, to give it a shot because I have a high success rate of being able to cut through the mess,’ Ms Simmons told Daily Mail Australia. 

The former quiz show king’s fall from grace and very public battle with addiction is a tale all too depressingly familiar to Andrea Simmons, who has called for him to reach out and seek help

‘I would love to see him restored. I honestly hate seeing people fall from glory like that. I know how to fight that fight and I feel like I can help him.’

Andrea’s story

Ms Simmons, now in her early fifties, had earned her first million in property development by the age of 21, was married with two children and semi-retired by 27, owned three properties, drove a Mercedes convertible, spent weekends on her boat and enjoyed luxury holidays in five-star resorts every six months.

The trained singer and dancer, who had never dabbled with drugs in her life, also starred alongside a young Margot Robbie, with whom she shared an acting coach, in TV commercials and productions on the Gold Coast.

But after her marriage broke down she fell in love with a new man who, unbeknownst to her, was in the throes of his own addiction to ice. 

‘He offered me something to smoke that he claimed would make me relax. He said, “You trust me, don’t you? I look all right, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Ms Simmons (pictured) lost everything to ice addiction and was reduced to a petty thief who scavenged discarded cigarette butts

‘He likened it to a bit of marijuana. It wasn’t like a needle or a tablet, a pill that you’re taking that you can’t control.

‘So I thought, “I’m 40, what’s the worst thing that can happen?”‘

This momentary lack of imagination would cost Ms Simmons dearly.

That one drag on an ice pipe sucked her into a two-year nightmare that went ‘from bad to worse very, very quickly’.

‘I lost everything. I ended up on the street. I was stealing to eat. I was picking up cigarette butts off the ground,’ she said. 

‘I was 39kg and my kidneys were bleeding. My hair was falling out. I had gum infections. I chipped my front tooth. My mum didn’t even recognise me.’

Her addiction devoured all her money, eventually saddling her with $70,000 worth of debt. 

Despite being clean for more than 12 years, the destruction of Ms Simmons’ addiction still reverberates today.

Ms Simmons even starred alongside a young Margot Robbie (pictured), with whom she shared an acting coach, in TV commercials and productions on the Gold Coast

But her life quickly unravelled after one drag on an ice pipe

‘One of my daughters still doesn’t talk to me, I’ve lost people I love, I have heart issues and I can’t drink alcohol because my kidneys are damaged,’ she said. 

The drug did so much damage to her brain that a scan showed whole sections had turned black and were no longer functioning, obliterating memories of her pre-ice life.

‘I couldn’t remember parts of my life and I had to recreate my whole being,’ she said.

‘I remember my daughter said to me, “Mum, it’s like you’re a teenager again, you don’t know what you like or what you want.”‘

She added: ‘That’s why I’ve made it my mission to warn anyone, especially the youth but anyone that I can, about the serious consequences associated with this drug.’

How to help an addict 

Ms Simmons founded the Australian Anti-Ice Campaign (AAIC) in 2013 and the organisation has so far trained more than 200 people to help other drug addicts overcome their problems.

Ms Simmons, who is now four years remarried, likened O’Keefe to AFL star Ben Cousins who overcame his own very public battles with addiction and brushes with the law to land a spot presenting with Channel Seven

But Ms Simmons (pictured with her husband of four years) was under no illusions that any road to redemption for O’Keefe would be long and arduous

She dedicates all of her time to teaching in schools, youth detention centres and prisons to warn youngsters of the dangers of addiction and has successfully helped hundreds of people turn their lives around.

This is why she thinks she can be the one to help O’Keefe. 

‘I would show him who he really is and his value and I would tell him that he needs to hold my hand and we walk through this,’ Ms Simmons said.

‘I would plug him into what worked for me. He can have a life worth living and a life he loves, because right now he’s doesn’t.

‘Being in the limelight for things like drugs and being caught by the police, having court cases, I’m sure he’s hurting.

‘He’s suffering from loss of family, embarrassment, depression. I know the journey and it doesn’t have to be like that.’

Ms Simmons, who is now four years remarried, likened O’Keefe to AFL star Ben Cousins who overcame his own very public battles with addiction and brushes with the law to land a spot presenting with Channel Seven.

The former Weekend Sunrise host and White Ribbon chairman (pictured) was handed a 18-month community corrections order for domestic violence and drug possession offences in January. He is currently appealing those convictions

‘I understand the cycle of addiction now and I don’t see the violent person that’s on the street stealing or bashing people,’ she said.

‘I see somebody that’s broken and in psychosis and hurting and doesn’t know how to get out. Somebody like me and I just want to help him with the tools he needs to break free.’

But Ms Simmons was under no illusions that any road to redemption for O’Keefe would be long and arduous. 

The former Weekend Sunrise host and White Ribbon chairman was handed a 18-month community corrections order for domestic violence and drug possession offences in January. 

The father-of-three is currently appealing those convictions. 

Alison Viney, the magistrate who sentenced O’Keefe, warned that his rehabilitation was an ‘ongoing concern’ before she predicted he would land himself back in court.

‘Mr O’Keefe will continue to be susceptible to drug relapse, and unless he is vigilant to the warning bells… we may well see him back before the criminal justice system,’ Ms Viney said at the time.

Even though the grim prediction came true last week, Ms Simmons still believes O’Keefe can find redemption from his troubles. 

‘The road back after falling from grace like Andrew has is extremely difficult,’ Ms Simmons said.

‘You’re fighting your own demons internally. Feeling like a failure, asking, “Who am I? What did I do?” I’ve given drugs to women with kids. Where are they now?’

O’Keefe went from hosting GQ Australia’s Men of The Year awards in 2018 to a seemingly endless carousel of court appearances

But Ms Simmons said the only way to recovery was to reserve judgement.

‘Everybody can fall off their perch tomorrow in the blink of an eye,’ she said.

‘Who are we to judge? Shouldn’t we be helping one another get up again?

‘I really want to go and sit with Andrew and reflect to him who he really is.

‘He’s somebody that has had a beautiful career. He’s somebody that has impacted so many lives and he can get that back. Just because he’s made a mistake doesn’t mean that he failed.

‘He can get back up on top of the horse.’

O’Keefe declined to comment.