Ben Cousins has told how his need to ‘escape’ from his high-pressure football career led to a downward spiral as he struggled with addiction.
The AFL legend said what started as letting off some steam on the weekends quickly turned into something much darker.
“It can happen so easily,” says the 46-year-old Ball magnets podcast.
“Early in my career I embraced that concept of hard work and throwing myself into football. “I think there were some things about my personality or my nature that made me feel like I needed to escape or get away,” he continued.
“For me, I did that in a way that, maybe not at first, ended up being problematic. In the beginning it was an occasional night out drinking with anyone, but soon that didn’t quite work out and it cost something.’
Ben explained, “You know, everyone’s path is different, but for me (addiction) it didn’t happen overnight.
“But there was a bigger picture and eventually everything fell apart.”
Cousins has spent the last few years rebuilding his life after a fall from grace, but he says there is “no quick fix” and he is willing to pay his dues.
Ben Cousins has told how his need to ‘escape’ from his high-pressure football career led to a downward spiral as he struggled with addiction. Pictured this month in the Brownlow with his sister Melanie
“It’s certainly not lost on me, or forgotten, the hard work and dedication it’s taken to get back to where I am today,” he explained earlier this year.
‘It’s a long game… You don’t just do something and then suddenly it changes overnight.’
Ben won the Brownlow Medal in 2005 and captained the West Coast Eagles from 2001 to 2005, securing the club’s best and fairest awards for four of that season.
He played 238 games and scored 205 goals for the West Coast Eagles, winning a premiership with the club in 2006.
The AFL legend said what started as letting off some steam on the weekends quickly turned into something much darker. “It can happen so easily,” the 46-year-old tells the Ball Magnets podcast. Pictured in 2006
His dramatic fall from grace was well documented starting in 2007, when he publicly battled drug addiction and dealt with his failed relationship with Maylea Tinecheff.
He was later dismissed and banned from the AFL for a year for repeated offences.
In 2021, Susan Backshell, who has acted as a mentor to Cousins since his last stint in prison, told Daily Mail Australia that he is focusing solely on his children.
Sitting in a cold, cramped prison cell for the sixth time in thirteen years, Cousins decided enough was enough after seven months behind bars in 2020.
Ben has made a TV comeback, appearing on Dancing With The Stars earlier this year. Pictured with dance partner Siobhan Power
He told her he wanted to make amends and clean up his life and Backshell gave him an ultimatum: “Give it your all, or forget it all.”
Since Cousins was released from custody in December 2020, Backshell said she has never questioned his commitment to sobriety and improving his community.
Last year, Cousins announced that he would be participating in several speaking engagements during his Such Is Life Tour, which kicked off in July.
The tour promised to tell untold stories from his football career and marked something of a catharsis for the controversial Brownlow medalist.
He has also made a TV comeback, appearing on Dancing With The Stars earlier this year.