Andrew O’Keefe was slapped with fresh charges and arrested hours after presenting himself to a Sydney police station on Monday.
The troubled TV star, 52, was seen walking out the rear exit of Rose Bay police station accompanied by three officers who took him away in the back of a police car.
As he was taken into custody, O’Keefe was seen wearing a band on his wedding ring finger despite splitting from his wife Eleanor in late 2017.
The former Deal or No Deal host revealed the ring as he shielded his face after getting into the police car.
The band was also visible as he made his way inside the building on New South Head Road at approximately 2pm.
Upon leaving and getting into his car after visiting the station, O’Keefe became involved in an argument with photographers.
He began to drive off, then parked again and returned to re-enter the police station.
O’Keefe was then seen walking out the rear exit of the station accompanied by three officers wearing latex gloves who took him away.
Andrew O’Keefe was seen wearing a band on his wedding finger as he was slapped with fresh charges and arrested hours after presenting himself to a Sydney police station on Monday
He was taken into custody and charged with breach of bail and possession of a prohibited drug.
According to court documents, O’Keefe is alleged to have been in possession of crystal methamphetamine.
Two days earlier, O’Keefe was treated by paramedics and hospitalised after overdosing at his Vaucluse unit early on Saturday morning.
Emergency services raced to the Old South Head Rd home about 3.40am responding to a concerns-for-welfare call.
He was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital where he was treated and later released.
The band was also visible as he made his way in and out of Rose Bay police station
On Tuesday, O’Keefe was told he was lucky to still be living and jail might be the best place for him ‘if he wants to stay alive’ by magistrate Jacqueline Milledge.
‘I shake my head,’ Ms Milledge said as O’Keefe’s matter was called inside Waverley Local Court.
O’Keefe was not present in court and his solicitor did not make a new application for bail on Tuesday, meaning the TV star would remain remanded in custody.
‘If he wants to stay alive that’s the best thing to do,’ Ms Milledge said.
The court was told he may make a bail application, to be released into a rehabilitation facility, when he returns to court on October 10.
But Ms Milledge noted ‘he’s done all that’ and described his case as ‘absolutely tragic’ and ‘absolutely sad’.
‘He walks in that door, he’s a frequent flyer, he’s just so used to it,’ Ms Milledge said in noting the many charges he had answered, further applications to deal with charges on mental health grounds and releases into rehabilitation.
She said they had ‘all been tried and tested and failed’.
‘God help him, and it’s a shame he doesn’t have an epiphany,’ Ms Milledge said.
Andrew separated from his wife Eleanor in 2017. The exes share three children, Barnaby, 19, Rory, 16, and Olivia, 12. Pictured with Eleanor in happier times in 2008
The breach of bail charge relates to allegations he threatened a man at a Point Piper address shortly before he was stopped while driving and found to allegedly be in possession of a crack pipe.
In August, he pleaded not guilty at Waverley Local Court to charges of intimidation, entering enclosed lands without permission and breaching an AVO.
Those matters will be heard alongside the fresh bail and drug charges on October 10.
Andrew and Eleanor separated in 2017. The exes share three children, Barnaby, 19, Rory, 16, and Olivia, 12.
In October 2019, the star admitted in an interview with Sunrise that life felt ‘meaningless’ after he separated from wife Eleanor.
‘Everyone hits a part of their life where they really question what it’s all about and who they really are and what they have done for the last four or five years and whether it means anything,’ he said.
‘And I think, when I split up with my wife, that was my time, and the thing I always believed in most of all was the power of love and combining with someone to make something special, and when I lost that, I thought it was all meaningless.
He added: ‘In life, we have several choices on how to deal with things, and some people work their way through their pain, or turn to alcohol or drugs or eating.
‘And I feel very lucky that in this country, we have these institutions and the expertise to be able to deal with those things and get on top of it.’
