Grant Hackett on DV allegations: "I was weak and cowardly, and I regret it."

No charges have ever been laid against Grant Hackett…

Former Australian Olympic Champion Grant Hackett has addressed domestic violence claims in a tell-all interview with the Herald Sun.

In October 2o11, police were called to Hackett’s Melbourne apartment to investigate an alleged violent rampage. At the time, Hackett admitted to smashing up the apartment, yelling at his wife and intentionally destroying her most prized possessions.

In the past, Hackett has strenuously denied physically hurting his wife, singer Candice Alley, and staunchly refuted allegations that his actions were witnessed by the couple’s children.

Now, Hackett has spoken to the Herald Sun about the incident, why he didn’t apologise afterwards, and how difficult it is to be apart from his children. When asked why he would destroy his family’s home in such a violent matter, Hackett insisted he just wanted the marriage to end.

“I was at a point where I was looking for the least resistant path. I was gutless.

“In its simplest terms I was weak and cowardly, and I regret it, and I am extremely sorry for the harm I have caused. But at the end of the day, that was my reasoning. Whether people like that or not, it is what it is.”

“You don’t want to leave your kids, and in the end you hope the decision will be made on your behalf.”

The decision was made on his behalf, with his marriage to Alley ending in divorce in August 2013. In a consequence Hackett did not expect, however, he was also prohibited from seeing his children for 78 days, a decision he says impacted his failure to speak out against the domestic violence allegations levelled against him.

“Imagine not seeing your kids for 78 days! It is hard, it is very, very hard. And as a result, you wouldn’t say anything or do anything to jeopardise that,” he told the Herald Sun.

In the aftermath of the incident, Hackett was interviewed by 60 Minutes, where he failed to apologise for his violent tirade.

Hackett, however, told the Herald Sun that his failure to say sorry was down to the editing process and that he did apologise during that previous interview.

Hackett continues to deny that he has ever physically harmed either his wife or children.

“No. Never. Ever. No one has ever been physically harmed. No one has ever been touched, not a hair on a head,” he said. “The police can verify that no one was hurt and that absolutely nobody else was in the apartment when they knocked on my door.”

Of course, Hackett’s claims that no one was hurt depend entirely on what definition of ‘hurt’ is applied.

Australia’s White Ribbon Campaign, which encourages men to swear an oath never to commit an act of violence against women, defines domestic violence as:

“An abuse of power perpetrated mainly (but not only) by men against women in a relationship or after separation. It occurs when one partner attempts physically or psychologically to dominate and control the other. Domestic violence takes a number of forms. The most commonly acknowledged forms are physical and sexual violence, threats and intimidation, emotional and social abuse and economic deprivation.”

It is hard to imagine how witnessing your partner smashing up furniture, breaking bottles and destroying a door could not be threatening, intimidating or psychologically damaging. And it’s hard to imagine how two small children, if they were indeed witness to the incident, could not be deeply affected and traumatised by the sound and sight of their father destroying their own home.

Violence doesn’t always manifest itself in bruises and broken bones…

No charges have ever been laid against Hackett, although questions were raised at the time of the incident as to why he was never taken into custody. The Australian reported at the time:

A former senior policeman who recently left Victoria Police said force policy dictated that Hackett should have been arrested as soon as an allegation of assault was made.

“Forget that it was a celebrity sportsman,” he said. “If that were you or I, we would have been arrested immediately and rightly so.”

Victoria Police yesterday confirmed their investigation into Hackett’s conduct was still under way and would not rule out laying charges against the former Olympian…

Former assistant commissioner Noel Ashby said: “Everyone should be treated the same whoever they may be. If the police had doubts . . . they must intervene immediately and . . . if that means arrest, then that’s what ought to have occurred.

When asked by the Herald Sun today what he regrets most about his life, Hackett was quick to answer.

“I do regret that night of Derby Day. Massively. A lot of people say that they have no regrets because it turns them into the people they are today, but I do feel like there are a few things that I could have missed along the way and still ended up the same person I am today. That’s my huge regret.”

Read more: 

Grant Hackett’s ex-wife breaks her silence.

Grant Hackett speaks for the first time since rehab.

Hackett admits he was hooked on sleeping pills.