'What did I do?' One story Jackie O didn't include in her book.

In the throes of her addiction, Jackie O remembers waking in "fear" of herself.

The radio host opened up on Mamamia's No Filter podcast about losing time to "blackouts" brought on by mixing alcohol and prescription medication.

At her addiction's peak, she was consuming 24 potent codeine tablets daily, along with 14 Stilnox sleeping pills, and alcohol.

Jackie O's slide into addiction started about seven years ago — the same time her marriage was breaking down.

It started as a coping mechanism, she tells host Mia Freedman.

"Friends would come over but they would also see I was drinking a goblet of wine, so they just put that down to going through a divorce, turning to a bit more alcohol… it doesn't warrant an intervention," Jackie said.

Listen to Jackie-O on the addiction that almost killed her on Mamamia's No Filter. Post continues below. 

It was those early days when the Stilnox had the greatest effects.

Alcohol up first, then sleeping pills throughout the day created "blackout" periods.

"You're functioning normally but you can't remember anything you did the night before," Jackie explained.

"I'd almost wake up in fear of, 'What did I do?'"

One moment still haunts her.

"I remember waking up one morning and I got this message from this guy and he said, 'Yeah, that sounds good but you should be careful who you say something like that to' and I was like, 'Oh my God, what did I say to this guy'."

"I scrolled back up to have a look and I think I'd said something like, 'Hey, want to be friends with benefits?'"

It was someone from the TV industry she had previously been on a date with and she was "mortified".

"I would never have done that sober."

The anecdote, which didn't make the cut in her memoir The Whole Truth, is just one of the countless blackout behaviours.

"I would see these things the next day… I'd scroll through my phone for evidence because you become like you want to chat. The idea seems so good in your head in the time but then when you're sober and you wake up the next day you're like, 'What on Earth was I thinking?'," she said.

"It was very destructive, out-of-character behaviour and scary to think you're doing things you don't remember."

It got to a point where the radio personality would have to write post-it notes about what she had been doing in the dark hours.

Jackie O with her new memoir, The Whole Truth. Image: Instagram/@jackieo_official.

The "perfect storm".

Jackie has been candid about her addiction struggles since making the initial revelation last month.

"The way I would liken it was it was numbing pain," she tells No Filter.

While it started as a way of relieving stress and sadness during her divorce, it soon spiralled.

Lockdowns in 2020 created the "perfect recipe" to hide from the world.

Jackie found herself stuck with herself in her home, creating the "perfect storm" for her addiction to sink its claws in.

It was a "moment in time that added to the convenience of making that situation worse".

"When restrictions lifted and people started socialising again, that was hard," she said.

"I was well aware that I was not living life at all but thinking it was better than what everyone else was doing."

For years, Jackie hid her addiction from those around her, but some knew something wasn't right.

Her manager Gemma O'Neill and personal assistant Brittany Woodford were worried.

Brittany tried leaving gentle letters around the house, nudging Jackie to get help.

Jackie recalls the internal tug-of-war she faced.

"The last year of my addiction, I felt nothing. Why are you continuing to take it?

"I think I kept living in hopes it would give me a high. I didn't know how to come off it."

This day finally came on November 6, 2022, when her supplier called to say they had been caught.

She was officially cut off from the black market prescription medications.

Desperate and distraught, the radio host called Gemma and opened up about her personal struggles.

Gemma dropped everything to help her best friend, booking her into a 12-step, month-long program at the Betty Ford Centre in Palm Springs.

Jackie detoxed, experiencing everything from nausea to insomnia, sweats and diarrhoea.

Watch Jackie O open up about her addiction struggles on radio. Post continues below.

In the years since, the mother has focused on herself, telling some loved ones about her battle.

But for the most part, she kept the truth to herself and prioritised her privacy.

She finally decided to share that part of her life with listeners and her KIIS FM costar Kyle Sandilands live on air on October 24 by reading the prologue of her new memoir.

"I was scared to tell people and say this out loud, I know people will look at me differently and love me," she said on radio.

"I was in a really, really dark place.

"That's what the addiction to your brain, it changes your way of thinking, it doesn't want you to get help. It's so powerful.

"It takes a rock bottom moment to cut yourself off," she added.

Since sharing her story, Jackie has been inundated with messages from thousands of women opening up about their addiction struggles — the key difference: they couldn't afford rehab.

"I was fortunate enough to have access to treatment and I recognise how privileged that makes me. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same opportunity," she wrote on Instagram ahead of her book's release.

The radio host revealed she would donate all profits from her book to Odyssey House Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre.

"Odyssey House provides life-changing support to individuals seeking treatment but who are struggling financially. I'm grateful for the work they do and I'm honoured to donate all my profits from my book to this incredible organisation.

"Thank you to everyone who has shared their personal stories with me.. Your honesty and support mean the world to me."

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Feature image: Instagram/@jackieo_official.