Ex-Dancing With The Stars star Ben Cousins has revealed he is “happier than ever” after overcoming a highly publicised battle with addiction.
Appearing in the The Kyle and Jackie O Show On Monday, the former AFL star admitted he was feeling positive again.
“Life is pretty good actually,” Ben told the radio duo.
“I’m in a good moment and I’ve regained my ambition, I’m working and busy, so everything is fine. It’s taken a while to arrive.”
Marveling at the change in Cousins’ lifestyle, co-host Kyle commented: “Wow, your life is different now.”
“What’s better: being an athlete and being at the top of your game or not being at the top of your game and running around like a madman?” Sandilands asked.
“My life is very different now but staying fit from a training perspective has always been a constant,” said the retired athlete.
Kyle then asked Ben if he had any advice for young people who might be starting to walk down a similar dark path.
Dancing With The Stars star Ben Cousins has revealed he is “happier than ever” after overcoming a highly publicised battle with addiction.
“Do you have a message for young people? You know how they are. They don’t like pre-mixed alcoholic drinks like we used to. These kids are taking pills, they’re out of control,” Kyle asked.
Ben revealed that being unhappy was the root of his problems and that complicating his life with drugs only made the situation more difficult.
“Everyone has their own journey,” Ben said.
“I’m in a good place and I’ve got some ambition back, I’m working and I’m busy, so it’s all good. It’s been a while,” Ben told Kyle and Jackie O.
‘I’d like to think my story is a bit of a warning because my livelihood was taken away from me. When I look at it in its simplest form, I wasn’t happy for a long time and that kind of thing didn’t help, it probably just made things worse.
“Once you go down that path, it can sometimes be a hell of a struggle to get back and I wish mine hadn’t taken so long.”
Ben added that if he could go back in time, he would have sought out more positive influences in his life.
‘If I had time again, I would have liked to spend some time with the right person or people to at least see if there were other ways to do it.
“Everyone has their own issues and they deal with them at different times. No one comes out on top.”
Ben won the Brownlow Medal in 2005 and captained the West Coast Eagles from 2001 to 2005, collecting the club’s best and fairest awards in four of those seasons.
He played 238 games and scored 205 goals for the West Coast Eagles, where he won a championship with the club in 2006.
“I’d like to think my story is a bit of a warning because my livelihood was taken away from me. When I look at it in its simplest form, I wasn’t happy for a long time and that kind of thing didn’t help, it probably just made things worse,” Ben added.
His public battles began in 2007 when rumors surfaced about his drug use amid incidents including abandoning his car to evade police and being found asleep outside a casino.
Despite rehabilitation efforts, including stays at expensive U.S. rehab centers, his struggles persisted, culminating in multiple arrests and legal problems.
Cousins continued to play professional football even after being suspended from the AFL in 2007. He joined Richmond in 2009, but retired after two seasons.
He was jailed six separate times over 13 years and spent seven months behind bars in 2020, when he apparently decided enough was enough.
Cousins’ personal life was also turbulent, with strained relationships and legal issues involving his ex-partner and their children.
Ben’s time on Dancing With The Stars was cut short on Sunday night when he was eliminated in a brutal triple elimination alongside Adam Dovile and Shane Crawford.
“If I had the opportunity again, I would like to have spent some time with the right person or people to at least see if there were other ways to do it,” he said.
