But while she says it was 'simple', it certainly sounds like the finance broker – who has now been clean for several years – had a very rough family life.
"I was kicked out of home from the age of 17," she tells, "and I was abusing several substances."
"This was all I knew for eight or nine years," she explained.
"It’s actually the worst thing in the world. It’s crippling."
Thankfully, when Hayley turned to fitness, she completely changed her life.
After following a female bodybuilder on Instagram, the MAFS bride was given the opportunity to join the fitness expert in Queensland, and was taught a new way of being in the world.
Training, Hayley reveals, gave her focus.
"It gave me direction, it gave me purpose, it gave me focus," she says.
Through her struggles, the bubbly brunette's friends have been with her every step of the way.
"Hayley’s been through a lot,” says her best friend Bek – who Hayley describes as "the mum I haven't got in my life at the moment.
"To see where she’s come, it’s a really proud moment for me. She deserves [to be happy]."
Hayley's father couldn't be prouder of his little girl either, beaming with pride at the woman she is today.
"Dad's always got my back," she says. "He's my number-one supporter."
For Hayley – who has clearly come so far and worked incredibly hard to make positive changes in her life – all she asks is that people not define her by her history.
"The worst thing that could happen... is that they’re going to judge me on my past discretions," she says.
"That would probably break my heart."
In a deeply personal interview with A Current Affair on February 3, the brave bodybuilder – who's already ruffling few feathers in the controversial reality TV show – opened up about the devastating effects of her decade-long drug habit.
"I battled things most women my age could only imagine... homelessness, mental abuse, physical abuse," the 32-year-old shared candidly.
"So what I can bring to the table is something that far outweighs my past."
