Dancing With The Stars star Ben Cousins has revealed he is ‘happier than ever’ after overcoming a high-profile battle with addiction.
Appears on the Kyle and Jackie O show On Monday, the former AFL star admitted he is feeling positive about life again.
“Life is actually pretty good,” Ben told the radio duo.
“I’m in a good place and just got some ambition back and working and busy and all that, so it’s good. It’s taken a while.”
While surprised by the change in Cousins’ lifestyle, co-host Kyle said, “Your life is really different now.”
“What’s better: being an athlete and performing at the top of your game, or not performing at the top of your game and running around like an idiot?” Sandilands asked.
“My life is very different now, but staying fit in terms of training has always been a constant,” the retired athlete said.
Kyle then asked Ben if he had any advice for young people who may have found themselves down the same dark path.
Disgraced Dancing With The Stars star Ben Cousins has revealed he is ‘happier than ever’ after overcoming a high-profile battle with addiction
‘Do you have a message for the young people… these kids, you know what they’re like. They’re not in the UDLs [pre-mixed alcoholic drinks]like we used to be. These kids are on pills, these kids are out of control,” Kyle asked.
Ben explained that unhappiness was the root of his problems and that complicating his life with drugs only made things worse.
“Everyone has their own journey,” Ben said.
“I’m in a good place and just got some ambition back and working and busy and the rest of it, so it’s good. It’s been a while,” Ben told Kyle and Jackie O.
‘I’d like to think that my story is a bit of a cautionary tale, because my livelihood was taken away from me. When I stripped everything down to its most basic form, I wasn’t happy for a long time and those kinds of things didn’t help, but probably just made it harder.
“Once you start down that road, it can sometimes be a hell of a fight to get back. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long.”
Ben added that if he could turn back the clock, he would have looked for more positive influences in his life.
“If I could do it over again, I would have liked to have spent some time with the right person or people to see if there were other ways I could have approached it.
“Everyone has their own things that they struggle with at different times. No one gets an easy ride.”
Ben won the Brownlow Medal in 2005 and captained the West Coast Eagles from 2001 to 2005, winning the club’s best and fairest award four times during those seasons.
He played 238 games and scored 205 goals for the West Coast Eagles, winning the 2006 championship with the club.
“I’d like to think my story is a bit of a cautionary tale because my livelihood was taken away from me. When I stripped everything down to its most basic form, I wasn’t happy for a long time and those kinds of things didn’t help, they probably just made it harder,” Ben added.
His public battles began in 2007, when rumors surfaced about his drug use, including him abandoning his car to avoid the police and being found sleeping outside a casino.
Despite attempts at rehabilitation, including stays in expensive American rehabilitation centers, his problems continued, resulting in multiple arrests and legal troubles.
Cousins continued to play professional football even after being suspended by the AFL in 2007. He joined Richmond in 2009 but left after two seasons.
He was jailed six times in 13 years and spent seven months behind bars in 2020, when he apparently decided enough was enough.
Cousins’ private life was also turbulent. Relationships were under pressure and there were legal problems surrounding his ex-partner and children.
Ben’s appearance on Dancing With The Stars came to an early end on Sunday night when he was eliminated in a brutal triple elimination, along with Adam Dovile and Shane Crawford.
“If I had the time again, I would have liked to spend some time with the right person or people to see if there were other ways I could have done it,” he said.