Troubled actress Jodi Gordon makes stunning confession about her substance abuse demons after going to rehab two years ago – and reveals her career change

Jodi Gordon made the shocked admission that she has struggled with substance abuse “most of her life” as she celebrated her 39th birthday on Thursday.

The actress shared a raw post on Instagram explaining how going to rehab and getting sober “completely changed my life in ways I didn't think were possible.”

The former Home and Away star completed a 30-day alcohol addiction recovery program at a Sydney clinic in 2022.

“I have battled substance abuse most of my life. At 24 I started recovering, but I could never stop,” she wrote in the post.

“I got sober on April 7, 2022 and have remained sober ever since, completely changing my life in ways I never thought possible.”

Gordon said her mother Bronwyn was her “hero” and “constantly teaches me how to use my own strength to get back up.”

She also revealed how her father, who passed away last year, taught her “acceptance, forgiveness and unconditional love.”

She hinted she had mended her rocky relationship with ex-husband Braith Anasta and thanked the former NRL star for the gift of their daughter Aleeia, nine.

'I always wanted a big family, and I got that with my daughter Aleeia. She is unlike any person I have ever known: so loving, fierce, patient, wise and curious,” she continued.

Gordon's struggles first came to light when she became embroiled in a bizarre drugs scandal with biker and Kings Cross identity Mark Judge in June 2009.

The pair were found by police in the bedroom of Mark's home in Bellevue Hill after Gordon called Triple Zero believing armed intruders were threatening her life, leading to an emergency operation.

Police reviewed CCTV footage and found no trace of intruders; only Gordon and Judge hid in a bedroom.

Gordon reportedly told officers during an interview after the bizarre episode that cocaine had been consumed earlier that evening.

A day earlier, her fiancé, Channel Seven heir Ryan Stokes, had called Kings Cross police to report Gordon missing after a night out. The couple split shortly after the scandal.

After her divorce from Ryan, Gordon started dating the man who would become her husband: rugby league player Braith Anasta.

They married between 2012 and 2015 and welcomed their daughter Aleeia in 2014.

The couple sadly split in 2015, and Gordon had a few romances before meeting British banker Sebastian Blackler in 2020.

But their relationship turned sour in November that year when it was revealed that Blackler was due to appear in court on an apprehended violence warrant issued by police just a week after Gordon made their relationship public.

Police called in an interim AVO, reportedly to protect Gordon from Blackler after he visited her home in the eastern suburbs.

Police were called to Gordon's home in Double Bay shortly after midnight after reports of a disturbance.

“On Friday, November 27, 2020 at approximately 12.30pm officers were called to a unit at Wiston Gardens in Double Bay,” a NSW Police spokesperson said at the time.

“Following an investigation, Eastern Suburbs officers suspended the investigation at the request of the victim. No further action is expected at this time.”

Police then engaged an interim AVO to prevent Blackler from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating Gordon.

It is understood the couple split in May 2021 but rekindled their relationship in February 2022.

But a similar incident that happened in April 2022 ultimately ended their romance before Gordon went to rehab.

According to court papers, police found Gordon “severely affected by intoxicating liquor” on April 3, 2022, at a guest house in Kurrajong Heights with an injured Sebastian Blackler.

Shortly afterwards, a Windsor Local Court magistrate ordered that Gordon and Blackler not contact each other until April 2024.

Another condition of the couple's arrest warrants, which were issued by police against the couple – and which their lawyers agreed to without confession – prohibited them from stalking, harassing or assaulting each other.

Blackler's lawyer Michael Bowe told Daily Mail Australia at the time that the fleeting romance between the two was now over.

The AVOs related to an alleged altercation in Sydney's far northwest.

NSW Police were called to a bed and breakfast and arrested Blackler, but later released him without charge.

Court documents said that when police asked Blackler about bruising and swelling on his left eye, he claimed his girlfriend had “hit him with a wine bottle” but declined to make a formal statement.

The AVO documents also said police found bruises on Gordon's left eye and lower lip, and three lumps on her forehead, but believed the injuries were days old.

Documents presented to the court also claim that police 'fear domestic violence between the parties, with Gordon's consumption of intoxicating liquor aggravating the violence'.

'There is clearly domestic violence between the parties [but they] are reluctant to disclose how the injuries were sustained,” the documents said.

Officers took out a restraining order against Gordon on behalf of Blackler, who was also granted an AVO against the actress over the same alleged incident.

Since her rehabilitation period after the incident, Gordon has been single and focused on health, fitness and motherhood.

She is often seen enjoying ice baths and exercising at Coogee Beach.

In her post on Thursday, Gordon revealed her new career change, explaining that she is now studying a Bachelor of Counseling and Communication Skills and has recently started her first professional job in mental health.

“I love this tough journey in a new field, working incredibly hard and working my way up every day with diligence, curiosity, wonder and purpose,” she continued.

“The future looks so bright as I walk this path to becoming a counselor and stay down-to-earth to share my journey. Here's to the good fight in reducing the discrimination and stigma that we all know exists.'

She ended by saying how poetry and writing have “helped me through the many dark places of my life.”

“If you've been on this wild ride with me, thank you for seeing my color, when sometimes all I showed was gray. Thank you for loving me and supporting me in your own way. I felt it.'