Olympian Grant Hackett has broken his silence on a string of highly-publicised controversies, including his most recent public meltdown that led to his Gold Coast arrest.
Grant, 37, was arrested and taken into custody at his parents’ home in Mermaid Waters in February after he flew into an uncontrollable rage and began stabbing at a chopping board with a knife, prompting his father to call the police.
Grant’s family were forced to report the champion swimmer as missing shortly after his release without charge, and appealed for the public to help find him. He was later confirmed as “alive and sober” in an undisclosed location.
Speaking on KIIS 1065’s Kyle and Jackie O on Tuesday, Grant shared his version of events during a revealing no holds barred interview.
“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.”
WATCH: Grant Hackett’s brother speaks about the troubled swimmer. Post continues after video…
“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 with that I didn’t know where I was at with my family and I just went to a hotel for four or five days,” he said of the .
The embattled swimmer also revealed the story behind a social media post, which alleged his brother “beat the sh*t” out of him.
The image, which has since been deleted, showed Grant’s face bloodied and swollen. He captioned the confronting shot: “My brother comments to the media… but does anyone know he beat the sh*t out of me. Everyone knows he is an angry man.”
The image which was posted to Instagram, has since been deleted.
“I wasn’t in a good space for a couple of months and he (my brother) 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 told the radio program of the incident.
“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.”
Grant says he’s now focused on staying sober.
Grant’s struggles have long been documented. In 2011, the swimmer trashed his Melbourne apartment after a fight with his now ex-wife, Candice Alley. He says the bizarre rampage was carried out in an effort to end his marriage.
“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.”
More recently, Grant was questioned by police in Melbourne following an on-flight altercation where he allegedly groped a male passenger’s nipple. While he admits he was intoxicated, he told the breakfast radio show the incident was blown out of proportion.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Grant says he’s now focused on staying sober.
