Aussie TV couple Cheryl (aka Chezzi) and Grant Denyer have promised to give a no-filtered account of their lives in their new tell-all podcast – IT’S ALL TRUE?
WATCH: Chezzi Denyer’s shock confession about her PTSD
And on the latest episode of their candid conversation series, the soon-to-be mum of three recalled a shocking account from her past, which she says still haunts her to this very day.
While speaking about their early days as young journos trying to “fake it till they made it”, Chezzi claimed she witnessed a horrific car crash, which led to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Speaking of her PTSD, the 40-year-old admitted she developed the condition from several events in her youth, but one heartbreaking incident was particularly painful.
“When I was 19 I was the first journalist on the scene of a car accident when a baby had died from being thrown from the window of a car, and I found the baby,” Chezzi began.
“I was told I was going to need counselling but I was trying to prove myself, and act tough, and I said I didn’t need it,” she added.
Grant chimed in: “As young journos, we’re trying to fake it till we make it. Pretending we’re good journos.”
Chezzi went on to say that while she initially thought she had overcome the horror of what she saw, in reality, the effects would come back to haunt her later in her life.
But she added that as someone who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), she believes her condition helped her navigate the tough times.
People who suffer from ADHD, a mental health condition that can cause hyperactive and impulsive behaviours, typically have trouble focusing their attention on single tasks.
“It’s not a disability; it’s my super power, because now I know what it is and I recognise it. Now I know to utilise my strengths. ADHD helps me to act quickly and cope with my PTSD,” she said.
Later in the podcast, Grant confessed that a near fatal event at one of his monster truck rallies, in which Chezzi could have been injured in a jet van explosion, added to her stress levels.
“The van had a jet plan engine in the back that shoots out a flame that can incinerate you in seconds, and the driver started it up indoors without checking that Chezzi was behind it,” Grant explained.
“She was engulfed in flames and thrown through the air, injuring her hip, burning off all her body hair.”
Chezzi later suffered anaphylactic shock – a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, which resulted in two collapsed lungs.
Comparing the horrific ordeal to “underwater breathing through a straw”, Chezzi said that she made the shock discovery she has a sulphur allergy she was unaware of, which could have killed her.
She concluded by saying that, despite the obvious mental anguish caused by the near fatal incident, like other events in her life, she simply “filed it away”.
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