Controversial television personality Andrew O’Keefe remains behind bars until the end of the month after being arrested for allegedly violating a detained force warrant issued by a former partner.
It was just the latest in a long line of sad scandals for the former Deal or No Deal presenter, who was once one of Australia’s most popular TV presenters.
The fallen TV presenter’s personal life has been on a downward spiral after the Seven network dumped him in 2021 following a separate domestic violence incident with a former partner.
Sources told Daily Mail Australia that former colleagues have stopped contacting O’Keefe following his departure from the network.
“It’s sad, no one I know at Seven has kept in touch with him,” a source revealed.
“Continuing a relationship wouldn’t be good for the optics,” they added.
Disputed former TV star Andrew O’Keefe (pictured) has run into trouble again
The fallen TV presenter’s personal life is on a downward spiral after the Seven network dumped him in 2021
The source added that O’Keefe was loved by top executives and crew during his 18 years with the network.
The fallen TV presenter, 51, was once considered the Seven Network golden boy, taking home an estimated $1 million a year.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his extensive television and charitable work.
The latest saga to haunt the embattled father-of-three came on Saturday after he was arrested at a unit on Longworth Avenue in Point Piper, Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Appearing before Parramatta local court on Sunday afternoon, it was revealed he had been charged with breaching an AVO after allegedly spending ’10 to 15 minutes’ in his former partner’s ward – who cannot be legally named – the evening before.
O’Keefe (pictured) first became a household name when he hosted Deal or No Deal
The court heard that O’Keefe had been invited by the woman for a visit, because they wanted to ‘resume their relationship’.
But magistrate Robert Walker said despite the invitation that O’Keefe must have been aware that he was violating the AVO terms, something he said there was “no excuse” for.
“You must be tired of this,” Magistrate Walker told the former TV star, appearing in court via an audiovisual link.
“I’m a little over it, Your Honor,” O’Keefe replied.
The court heard that O’Keefe was currently being treated for mental health issues before making a candid assessment.
“It (treatment) doesn’t seem to work, it does,” he said.
O’Keefe’s attorney Sharon Ramsden filed for bail on behalf of her client and said he was just home to collect some of his belongings.
She said that despite the fact that an AVO existed between them “the parties (involved) want to resume their relationship.”
“The ultimate intrusion is he was there at the property for 10 to 15 minutes,” Ms Ramsden said.
It seems that the parties want to resume contact. I understand that the complainant has issued an invitation to claim the property.’
Prosecutor Peter Archibald opposed bail, saying police were concerned that O’Keefe would endanger victims’ safety and interfere with witnesses, on several separate cases on which he is currently out on bail, if he were released again.
O’Keefe then took a farewell shot at the Magistrate as he was led from the cells of Surry Hills Police Station.
“Thank you, Your Honor, for nothing,” he said, slapping his hands on the table in front of him before leaving the room.
O’Keefe will remain behind bars on remand until his next appearance at Downing Center Local Court on August 30.
In recent years he has been in and out of court on drug and assault charges, serving four months behind bars on remand after being charged with asphyxiation of another woman in his Sydney CBD apartment in January last year. Kent Street.
O’Keefe’s battle with drugs has played out in public over the past few years, including several stints in rehab.
Following his departure from Seven in 2021, he battled his demons in silence and attended a Buddhist-style silent meditation retreat, where he vowed not to speak a word.
He divorced his wife Eleanor in 2017, was infamously pictured kissing a brunette on a night out in Tasmania in 2018, and divorced his partner in 2019.