Sunrise host Natalie Barr’s tough question to AFL star Ben Cousins
Natalie Barr has put Ben Cousins in the spotlight as he takes on a new role as sports presenter for Channel Seven.
The Sunrise host and Cousins were surrounded by football fans at Federation Square in Melbourne on Friday morning as they discussed Saturday’s final match between Collingwood and Brisbane.
A major talent on the west coast, Cousins began his new career as sports presenter for Seven News Perth in June after a troubled life that saw him spend a short time behind bars and a long battle with drug addiction.
‘Are you OK?’ Barr asked.
“Because we’ve obviously seen a lot about you and I know you don’t want to get into it, but people are worried about you.”
Natalie Barr put Ben Cousins in the spotlight during Sunrise on Friday morning, saying many people were ‘concerned’ about the former football star
The cousins admitted it had been a “long road.”
‘Really and truly. “I wish it didn’t have to turn out the way it did before, but life is great right now,” the former footballer said.
“When you strip back everything and examine your life, for anyone, it’s in its simplest form: It goes back to what makes you happy and that wasn’t me for a long time. But you know, I very much am these days.”
Cousins said “life was good” and added that although taking on the role of sports presenter was “out of his comfort zone”, he was grateful for the opportunity.
“It was discouraging,” he said.
“I’ve done quite a bit of work over the last 18 months leading up to going live, so there’s definitely some anxiety and nerves involved, so it’s a work in progress.”
A major talent on the west coast, Cousins began his new career as sports presenter for Seven News Perth in June after a troubled life that saw him spend a short time behind bars and a long battle with drug addiction.
Cousins played 238 games and scored 205 goals for West Coast between 1996 and 2007, winning the premiership in his penultimate season in Perth.
The former midfielder captained the Eagles from 2001 to 2005, winning the club’s best and fairest honors in four of those five seasons.
He was suspended by the club in March 2007 – just six months after the grand final win against Sydney – for alleged substance abuse and sacked six months later after being arrested for drug possession and refusing to submit to a blood test.
He returned to the AFL with Richmond in 2009, before retiring at the end of the 2010 season.
Cousins was imprisoned six times in thirteen years.
He finally realized enough was enough when he was released from prison in December 2020 after serving seven months behind bars when he was found guilty of stalking and intimidating his former partner.
Nearly three years later, the 45-year-old is still out of trouble.
He returned to playing park football, re-established a good relationship with his two young children and is back on the red carpet attending AFL events.
Cousins now presents the morning sports bulletin as part of his full-time gig with Seven.
Ben Cousins (left) celebrates with teammate Chris Judd after the West Coast Eagles won an AFL grand final thriller in 2006