Footy great Rex Hunt is hit with devastating diagnosis after suffering a series of horror health setbacks
- AFL legend Rex Hunt has been diagnosed with dementia
- Follows the diagnosis of bipolar depression in 2017
- 74-year-old is a long-standing TV and radio identity
AFL icon and popular Australian television presenter Rex Hunt has been diagnosed with dementia.
It comes after the 74-year-old suffered a number of health setbacks in recent years, including confirmation that he was suffering from bipolar depression in 2017.
Hunt's wife Lynne confirmed her husband's condition on Wednesday.
“We are dealing with this as a family and giving him love and support,” she said News Corp.
'He is fit, in good spirits and looking forward to fishing again soon.
AFL icon and popular Australian television presenter Rex Hunt has been diagnosed with dementia
It comes after Hunt, 74, has suffered a number of health setbacks in recent years, including confirmation that he was suffering from bipolar depression in 2017.
“Thousands of families in Australia have loved ones suffering from dementia and we are no different to them.”
In September, the two-time VFL premiership winner with Richmond checked himself into a Melbourne clinic to receive treatment for his mental health.
It came after Hunt opened up about his personal struggles on a podcast with fellow footy identity Sam Newman, where he confirmed his mental health went downhill after becoming addicted to opioids seven years ago while taking strong painkillers following surgery for a debilitating neck injury.
“Life will never be the same,” Hunt said.
'Mental illness is a dirty word to some, but until it happens to you, I had no idea of the ups and downs your mind goes through when you suffer what I suffer.
'It's a chemical imbalance in the brain and I have been diagnosed with bipolar depression, with high highs and low lows.
“I'm in a really tough situation right now because it's hard to get everyone together when you're trying to get yourself together.”
Hunt's wife Lynne confirmed her husband's condition on Wednesday (he is pictured left, with Richmond superstar Dustin Martin after the Tigers won the 2017 AFL Grand Final
In July 2022, Hunt was captured on dashcam footage grabbing a garden fork and chasing a man while shouting 'want you dead'.
A number of social media rants in recent years have also raised questions about Hunt's fragile mental state.
Hunt played 202 games in a 10-year VFL career with Richmond, St Kilda and Geelong before becoming a football broadcaster in the 1990s.
He later became an Australian fishing icon by hosting his own TV show for fourteen seasons from 1991 to 2004, where he famously kissed his catches and then threw them back.