The AFL champion had three separate stints behind bars, but there was one luxury he refused to give up.
Channel 7’s long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away helped Ben Cousins get through his three stints in jail.
That’s not a misprint.
The AFL Brownlow medallist’s life spiralled out of control after his retirement from the game, battling drug addiction and a number of personal issues which saw him locked up on three separate occasions between 2017 and 2020.
He has since turned his life around and is now working on radio and in TV for 7NEWS Perth.
But crestfallen as he was behind bars, Cousins said he never missed his beloved Aussie drama.
Asked by The Front Bar’s Sam Pang what his favourite TV show is, Cousins admitted his guilty pleasure was, and still is, Home and Away.
“I’ve been watching Home and Away for a long time,” Cousins said with a cheeky smile.
Cousins, who has recently been preparing to appear on Dancing With the Stars, said his favourite character is Justin, who is played by James Stewart.
“I danced with him (Stewart),” Cousins said.
“I did tell him when I was locked up (that) I did not miss an episode.”
Amongst an eruption of laughter, Mick Molloy joked: “I’m guessing you were more ‘home’ than ‘away’ while you were watching that.”
Cousins recently spoke on radio about his time in prison, saying he even played footy while he was inside.
“They do love their footy in there,” he told FoxFM.
“The first two times I went in, I avoided the footy. I thought, ‘This could be more trouble than it’s worth’.
“And then the third time, I got talked into it and I loved it. We had some fun; I played a handful of games and I enjoyed that.
“Since then, I’ve played a couple of charity games, and then I went and did a pre-season with a local footy club in Perth.
“It was good for me. I had to get out of my own way, meet new people, and get out of my comfort zone. It was a great reminder of the important role that footy clubs play in people’s lives.”
It wasn’t all fun and games in there though, Cousins revealing he got involved in a “scuffle” with some other inmates.
“Yeah, a little one. At some stage, that will probably find you, no matter who you are,” he said.
“You meet people from all walks of life, but the novelty wears off pretty quick.
“You make the most of a tough situation and find a way.”
