The two words Andrew O’Keefe repeats to himself every morning
Andrew O’Keefe is settling into a very different lifestyle after being granted bail in May following allegations he assaulted a sex worker.
The former The Chase Australia host will complete his court ordered rehab at the Connect Global centre at Swan Bay on the NSW mid-north coast.
The 50-year-old begins his day at 5.30am and tells himself that he is a “good man” before making his bed and goes for either a 3.5km run, a gym workout or a boxing session and settling for breakfast.
The rehab facility will be O’Keefe’s new home for the next six to 12 months where he will complete a number of chores, attend counselling sessions and Alcoholic or Narcotics anonymous meetings.
O’Keefe had been ordered to attend rehab nine times before, but this time he says will be different.
“This is a very different place. It’s very much a holistic view of one’s place in the world,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“That is to say that you do address issues of addiction and patterns of behaviour but you do it in a way that is very much focused on being a useful member of family and community.
“A big part of that is being free of drugs and it’s about questioning how you associate with your family and loved ones and creating a very positive vision for yourself of your place in society, which is not only what the blokes here lack but what other blokes in general lack as well.”
The centre’s creator Pastor Ross Pene said O’Keefe is doing “great” and said the former White Ribbon Australia chairman is taking on responsibilities.
O’Keefe has been accused of grabbing a sex worker by the throat before punching her and pushing her to the ground.
He has pleaded not guilty to all six, which included three counts of common assault, intentionally choking a person without consent, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The court heard that Mr O’Keefe claimed he was acting in self-defence after being attacked, though the complainant hasn’t been charged with any offences.
O’Keefe will be reappearing in court in June to challenge a charge of breaching an apprehended violence order (AVO) against another complainant, and again in July to examine the evidence relating to the allegations of assault and choking.
Image: Getty