Jackie O Henderson has opened up about the type of men she used to be attracted to and how her exes ‘mistreated’ her in relationships.
The 49-year-old radio host said her romantic partners have “treated her very badly” in the past in the first episode of her new show Your best lifewhich he presents with his manager Gemma O’Neill.
“I haven’t valued myself 100 percent in the past and I’ve been treated very poorly for what I’ve accepted,” Jackie admitted.
“I’ve always been a people-pleaser. In every relationship I’ve had, I’ve been the nurturer, the giver.”
Jackie O first announced her split from ex-husband Lee Henderson in 2018, to whom she was married for 15 years.
The radio star was previously married to her former radio co-host Phil O’Neil for four years before divorcing in 1999.
“I’m no angel,” she continued on the podcast, which reached number one on Apple Podcasts overnight.
“I’m not saying I was Mother Teresa. Obviously I had my flaws in my relationships, but I know I was more concerned about how other people in my life felt and I always put myself last.”
Jackie O Henderson revealed how she learned to use boundaries in romantic relationships and overcame her people-pleasing tendencies to avoid being “mistreated”
The 49-year-old radio star admitted that she previously couldn’t even tell her exes if she didn’t like the way they spoke to her.
Jackie revealed that she never had the confidence to speak up for herself in relationships, even on small matters like telling her ex-boyfriends that she didn’t appreciate the way they spoke to her.
“If I was going to make them uncomfortable or make the situation awkward, I just wasn’t going to do it,” he said.
“It was more important that they (feel comfortable) than me. I preferred to be the one who suffered and bit my tongue. Because I didn’t want them to feel bad.”
The mother of one also opened up about her sex and love life after the divorce and the advice her psychologist gave her that changed everything.
“A lot of self-love comes from putting yourself first, setting boundaries, and feeling comfortable enough to say, ‘Hey, I have a problem with that, can we talk about it?'” Jackie said.
“I’ve been terrible with (boundaries) my whole life.”
Jackie O first announced her split from ex-husband Lee Henderson, pictured, in 2018. The couple had been together for more than 18 years and share a 13-year-old daughter, Kitty.
Best friends and business partners Gemma and Jackie share the same psychologist, who told the radio host to start by setting a small limit that they felt comfortable and “doable” to reach.
“The feeling you get afterwards is really empowering,” Jackie said.
‘What happens is that you start to get addicted to that feeling… You’ll smile at the thought of taking care of yourself. And you know what? You’ll think, “I’ve solved a situation and it’s all been really positive.”
“Next time you’ll do a bigger one that feels really uncomfortable. The more you do it, the more empowered you’ll feel and you’ll start doing it more often.
Jackie went on to explain that these small actions grew until she began to attract “more valuable people, moments and situations” into her life.
“You don’t have to get there through some profound moment or epiphany, but rather start small and slowly work your way up to getting there,” he said.
“People treat you badly and you get abused in certain situations and you’re basically taking it out on yourself in life. You sit there and think, ‘Well, fuck it, this is the situation I’m in and I’m going to get on with it.'”
‘When you start choosing and loving yourself more, you begin to attract people and situations into your life that match the love you give yourself, without a doubt.’
After going through her divorce, Jackie said she had been using dating apps for about three days when she claimed she had already met “the one.”
Jackie O revealed that her biggest fear in dating now is going on a blind date or on a dating app and not liking the guy.
“I remember your first date (after your divorce),” Gemma told her about the anonymous man.
“You were so excited and couldn’t wait to meet him. I think you had already made up your mind that it was time.”
The radio host’s best friend said that over the years, Jackie “certainly has a pattern” with the type of men she’s attracted to.
“I imagined our life together, I dreamed of us getting married, I knew he was the one without having met him,” Jackie recalled with a laugh.
“I was excited and you weren’t.”
It would be the first of many first dates that Jackie says sometimes left her feeling “so exhausted” at the end of the night.
“Sometimes I felt like I was interviewing them,” she said of her experiences on the dating app. “I was trying so hard to be interesting and cheerful, and to be honest, it was just ridiculous. That’s not who I am.”
“I worked myself to the point of exhaustion, I was so exhausted after some of those appointments.”
The radio personality has become a fully-fledged socialite in recent years.
Jackie’s group of friends previously included co-host Kyle, KIIS news presenter Brooklyn Ross and Gemma.
Now, the blonde beauty is mingling with Australia’s rich and famous, and is even heading to Europe for one of her new friends’ wedding in July.
Her close relationship with PE Nation designer Pip Edwards has also seen Jackie move in the same circles as leading Sydney stylist Jess Pecoraro, make-up artist to the stars Max May and Four Seasons condom heirs Michael and Alexander Porter.
