Grant Hackett explains recent controversies
Grant Hackett was arrested in February at his parents’ home after his father and mother feared for their safety after the swimmer’s behaviour became erratic.
His parents then asked for the public’s help to find their son after he went missing before being spotted on the Gold Coast.
In 2016, the athlete was also accused of giving a fellow passenger a “nipple cripple”. Hackett recently uploaded a photo of himself with a black eye on Instagram claiming it was the result of a fight with his older brother.
In an interview on KIIS 106.5’s Kyle and Jackie O, Hackett opened up about his recent controversial events.
“I didn’t get any punches in there as you could see from the results,” Hackett said. “I think it shocked him."
“I wasn’t in a good space for a couple of months and he came over to my house and I was refusing that help, I didn’t want him to come in and when I get in that state of mind I get quite reclusive.”
“He wanted to come in, I didn’t want him to come in … I was trying to push him out and we got into a push-and-shove and he whacked me with his weak arm, so I’d hate to see him with his strong arm. We were both very regretful of the situation.”
“I was very upset with my brother, he was very upset with me … I didn’t drink through that period but it all became too much.”
Hackett also revealed the lead up to his arrest at his parents’ house.
“Obviously it was pretty shocking from my end and to look back on that footage is quite agonising,” he said. “I was in a bad place, I suffer from pretty bad anxiety and ended up drinking. I drank too much at my parents’ house and got into an argument with my dad.”
“I went into their guest house and locked myself in there but they didn’t know that ... I woke up to two police officers, I was shocked.”
“It was quite terrifying.”
“Once I was released … I didn’t know where I was at with my family and I just went to a hotel for four or five days.”
The swimming champion explained his difficulty knowing who to trust when he is trying to get help due to his public profile.
“I wasn’t in a good space, I was deep down in that ditch and hit rock bottom,” he said.
“When I got arrested I thought, ‘This is it, I’ve had enough of this’ (it’s time to get help)."
“I get anxiety, I haven’t handled the past few years very well in bits and pieces … ever since I went thought that divorce and all the publicity that followed.”
Hackett’s personal life began to make headlines in 2012 when he destroyed his apartment at Melbourne’s Crown Casino.
“I smashed up the place because I wanted the marriage to end at that time. The piano was tipped on its side, I did that,” he said.
“It was so public, you get in this depressed state and you’re just looking for something to numb it. I just wanted to sleep.”
Hackett says that his “nipple cripple” accusation was sensationalised due to the media speculation.
“I finished Olympic trials where I didn’t have the success I wanted, I was in a dark place, I drank before that flight — there was one gentleman sitting in front of me — I was drunk for sure.
“I tapped him on the shoulder just to ask to put his seat up a little bit … if I touched his nipple, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to grab anyone inappropriately.”
“The next minute in the media I’m being confrontational, I’m swearing … I didn’t do anything like that. I even asked him again if he was OK but he was really upset.”
Hackett explained that this misinformation circulating around his personal life is frustrating but it’s impossible to fight every battle.
“I had three court cases running at the same time. If they get off on a technicality, it’s literally millions of dollars down the drain,” he said.
“What about for your mental health too? It drives you insane.”
Hackett checked into a rehabilitation facility in Malibu following his arrest and is now focusing on staying sober.
Image: Greg Stolz/The Courier-Mail