Billy Brownless may have relished his short time in the jungle while competing on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
But the AFL legend has admitted he almost didn’t sign up for the show.
Speaking to Sam Newman and Don Scott’s You Cannot Be Serious podcast, Billy said he thought the show was for ‘B-list celebrities’ and ‘d***heads’, before finding himself in the South African Jungle.
‘I used to watch those shows and think look at those d***heads on telly’: AFL star Billy Brownless, 53, has revealed he nearly turned down the offer to appear on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! this year
‘I used to watch those shows and think look at those d***heads on telly,’ Billy, 53, confessed.
‘My management rang me and said, ‘Bill, they want you to go into the jungle. It might be good for you. You might get off the p**s for a while… lose some weight. And the money is quite good’,’ he explained.
Initially turning down the offer, the Geelong Cats great explained: ‘I said, ‘Bull****, I can’t watch those shows, those B grade celebrities walking around and all that!”
Changing his tune: Speaking to Sam Newman and Don Scott’s You Cannot Be Serious podcast this week, Billy admitted he previously thought the show was for ‘B-list celebrities’ and ‘d***heads’
‘They called back and said, ‘Have a think about it, it might be good for you,’ Billy recalled.’
The former athlete said he’s glad he went on the show because of the friendships he forged with his co-stars, especially Dale Thomas and Rhonda Burchmore.
I’m A Celebrity also helped the father-of-three shed a whopping 11kg, according to his daughter Ruby.
Thankful: The former athlete said he’s glad he went on the show because of the friendships he forged with his co-stars, especially Dale Thomas (right) and Rhonda Burchmore.
In January, the 22-year-old told the Herald Sun that the whole family was ‘really proud’ of his decision to join the show, adding: ‘He lost a lot of weight and it was just a good experience to put everything into perspective.’
Billy wasn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve during his stint in the jungle.
It was there he spoke about his ex-wife, Nicky, and how she left him after an affair with his friend Garry Lyon because she ‘fell out of love’.
‘He lost a lot of weight’: I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! also helped the father-of-three shed a whopping 11kg, according to his daughter Ruby. (Pictured: Left in Jan 2019, Right in Jan 2020)
In a conversation with Rhonda Burchmore, he said the pair were estranged, before he spoke candidly about the split which shocked the nation in 2015.
‘It was public, very public. Front pages and all that,’ he said.
‘We had separated which surprised a few. Well she left me, really. She just fell out of love which happens, you know?’
Emotional: During his time in the jungle, Billy candidly spoke about his ex-wife, Nicky, and how she left him after an affair with his friend Garry Lyon because she ‘fell out of love’.
Rhonda asked how long they were together for, to which he replied ’18 years’.
He continued: ‘I didn’t expect it. You think she’ll come back and all that, but she didn’t. So that was a good kick in the guts.’
Lyon and Garry had been friends for 15 years and worked together on the popular AFL Footy Show between 2009 and 2015.
Tough: In February 2016 news broke that Lyon (second right), who had separated from wife Melissa (right) in 2014, had been having an affair with Nicky (second left with Billy in 2012)