Nadia Bartel has opened up about her experience working with AFL legend Ben Cousins ahead of the premiere of Dancing with the Stars.
‘Ben was amazing. He was such a great vibe to have around,’ she told PerthNow on Wednesday.
‘You can see how, obviously, all the hard work that he put into becoming such a big footy star, he definitely took that onto the stage as well.’
Cousins has been rebuilding his life in recent years after a fall from grace.
The athlete told the Herald Sun earlier this year he actually agreed to do the dance competition before, back in 2008, before changing his mind.
‘I’m just in a pretty good space at the moment and am in a position to take on some new challenges and this has come along and probably for the first time in quite a while I am in a position to give it a go,’ he said.
‘This worked for where I was at mentally and wanting to throw myself into something.’
When it comes to rebuilding his life, Ben says there is ‘no quick fix’ and he is willing to pay his dues.
Nadia Bartel (pictured) has opened up about her experience working with AFL legend Ben Cousins ahead of the premiere of Dancing with the Stars
‘Ben was amazing. He was such a great vibe to have around,’ she told PerthNow on Wednesday
‘It is certainly not lost on me, or forgotten, the hard work and commitment that it has taken to get back to where I am,’ he explained.
‘It is the long game… You don’t just do something and then all of a sudden it changes overnight.’
Ben won the Brownlow Medal in 2005 and captained the West Coast Eagles from 2001 to 2005, securing the club’s best and fairest awards four out of those season.
He played 238 games and booted 205 goals for the West Coast Eagles, where he won a premiership with the club in 2006.
His dramatic fall from grace was well documented from 2007 as he publicly battled a drug addiction and coped with his failed relationship with Maylea Tinecheff.
He was later sacked and copped a one year ban from the AFL for repeated infringements.
Ben has agreed to do Dancing With The Stars this year, explaining that focusing on a new challenge will aid him in rebuilding his life
His dramatic fall from grace was well documented from 2007 as he publicly battled a drug addiction and coped with his failed relationship with Maylea Tinecheff. Pictured in 2006
In 2021, Susan Backshell, who has acted as a mentor for Cousins since his last stint on jail, told Daily Mail Australia that he remains solely focused on his kids.
Sitting in a cold, cramped jail cell for the sixth time in 13 years, Cousins decided enough was enough after seven months behind bars in 2020.
He told her he wanted to make amends and clean up his life and Backshell gave him an ultimatum: ‘Give it his all, or forget it entirely’.
Since Cousins was released from custody back in December 2020, Backshell said she’s never once questioned his commitment to sobriety and bettering his community.
In addition to Nadia and Ben, four-time Gold Logie winner Lisa McCune is set to strut her stuff on the dance floor with MasterChef star Julie Goodwin.
They will join singer Samantha Jade, SAS Australia’s Ant Middleton, AFL legend Shane Crawford and Olympian and former senator Nova Peris.
Rounding out the competitors are comedian Nikki Osborne, Home and Away’s James Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens presenter Adam Dovile and chef Hayden Quinn.
The anticipated series will see Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown hosting the show.
Dancing with the Stars is set to premiere Sunday, July 7 on Channel Seven.
The anticipated series will see Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown hosting the show
In addition to Nadia and Ben, four-time Gold Logie winner Lisa McCune is set to strut her stuff on the dance floor with MasterChef star Julie Goodwin