Brendan Fevola’s daughter, Mia, has revealed how her father’s gambling addiction left her family homeless.
AFL legend Brendan, 45, went to rehab after hitting rock bottom following a night out on New Year’s Eve in 2010.
He lost almost $1million from gambling and had to sell his 2009 Coleman Medal, and Mia has now revealed how it affected her family.
“The whole gambling situation, I honestly blocked so much of it out,” she told her campmates on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! on January 20.
“I think just as a defence mechanism. But I know he gambled $363,000 in a day. But to be honest, my mum tried very, very hard to protect us from all of these things.”
She admitted that she was unaware of many of their difficulties until people at school told her.
“We just bought a house and didn’t settle, so we got sued,” she explained.
“And then we were homeless because he gambled every cent that we had.”
She said they were forced to move in with her grandparents, with her mother, Alex, signing up to Dancing With The Stars to get them back on their feet.
Brendan went into rehab and declared bankruptcy in 2013 following a downward spiral from his gambling addiction.
He has previously spoken out about how he lost all of his lucrative earnings from gambling, and joined I’m A Celebrity in 2016, which he won, in a bid to change his public image.
Who is Mia Fevola?
Since retiring from the Carlton and the Brisbane Lions, Brendan has turned his life around and has become a staple voice on Australia’s radio, co-hosting Fifi, Fev & Nick on Fox FM.
Now, his eldest child, Mia, has followed in his footsteps and has joined the 2026 cast of I’m A Celebrity, and is hoping to win just like her father.
During the debut episode on Sunday, January 18, Mia was reduced to tears as she conquered her fear of water, revealing she became scared of it after being involved in a jet ski accident a few years ago.
After the episode aired, Brendan shared his pride over Mia bravely facing her fears after getting “badly hurt” in the accident.
“She had a bad jet ski accident a couple of years ago. She had an accident and was badly hurt, [and went to] hospital. So, she doesn’t really like water now,” he shared on The Fox’s Fifi, Fev and Nick.
“When she goes under water, she freaks out. The first challenge [on I’m A Celebrity] she had to be dunked under water and swim, and put these wires together, and I was like, ‘Did you cry?’
“She said for the first five minutes she sat there crying the whole time. I’ve done that stuff, so I know it’s hard, but to sit there and watch your daughter cry and then do the challenge… I’m really proud of her.”
Who is Brendan Fevola’s wife?
Brendan married Australian photographer Alex Fevola (nee Cheatham) on October 7, 2005, in a romantic ceremony in Toorak.
Make-up artist Alex is also the founder and CEO of Runway Room Cosmetics, which she launched after working as a model in her early career.
However, heartbreak hit when Alex discovered Brendan was having an affair with then 19-year-old Lara Bingle, which rocked their marriage.
Alex met Lara while starring on The Footy Show’s end-of-year dance review at the show’s 2006 Grand Final episode, marking the start of a difficult patch for his family.
“I felt insane even saying it, but I knew it was true. I don’t know how I knew, I just did. One of the reasons I felt this was because I knew Brendan very well and he’d mentioned every other person that was featuring on [The Footy Show], but he had never mentioned her. I knew exactly why,’ Alex explained in her book, Silver Linings.
“It all made sense; the underlying self-doubt I’d been feeling, the distance. In a split second, the dread set in, that horrible gut-wrenching feeling knowing my life was about to become very complicated.”
Alex ultimately called time on their marriage following the affair, with the couple going their separate ways in 2014.
However, the couple then rekindled things in 2016, announcing their engagement later that same year.
They worked hard to get their relationship back on track and are now happier than ever, focusing on their family.
“The secret to a second-round relationship is letting go of all the baggage and resentment. You have to start again, fresh, as two people,” Alex told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2022.
Does Brendan Fevola have children?
Brendan shares three daughters – Leni, 18, Lulu, 15, and Tobi, seven – with his longtime partner Alex.
He also has a very close bond with his stepdaughter Mia Fevola, whom Alex welcomed in a previous relationship.
But Mia’s father, Lonny, tragically died suddenly when she was a baby, with Brendan entering Alex’s life a few years later.
Brendan raised Mia since she was a toddler, and she calls him her ‘dad’, with the pair sharing a very special bond.
“I met him when I was three,” Mia previously said of their bond. “For as long as I can remember, that’s been my life. I can’t remember life before him.”
What happened to Mia Fevola?
Mia has followed in Brendan’s showbiz footsteps and has stepped into the spotlight herself.
She has made her jungle debut on I’m A Celebrity 2026 alongside stars including Barry Williams, Rachel Hunter and Luke Bateman.
However, it wasn’t her first time on the show, as she previously supported her father, Brendan, on the program when he won back in 2016.
Last year, she also competed on Dancing With The Stars but was devastated when she was sent packing in a shock semi-final elimination.
She had been the fan favourite to win, but it was ultimately Home and Away star Kyle Shilling who took home the crown.
“It’s been the best experience of my life, honestly. The production, the cast, and my partner. It unlocked a part of me… It’s been amazing,” Mia said upon her exit.
Mia has also not shied away from addressing the ‘nepo baby’ allegations after soaring to fame with some very famous parents.
“I definitely am one,” she previously told our sister publication Woman’s Day. “Obviously, having my family’s surname has given me so many opportunities in life. I know how lucky I am.”
She also dated Bass Miller for two years, but the couple quietly went their separate ways before she began filming Dancing With The Stars.
“I’m single at the moment, and I’d like to keep it that way for now,” Mia later told Stellar.
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