James Packer dated 3 famous women. One thought he was planting bad stories about her.

James Packer, an Australian billionaire media mogul and son of Kerry Packer holds immense wealth. But when it comes to his personal life, things haven't been so rosy.

In his first television interview in over a decade, James Packer has opened up about his mental health struggles and the breakdown of his very high-profile relationships, including his "train wreck" split from Mariah Carey. 

In an interview with 7NEWS' Spotlight program, Packer recalled the traumatic experience managing his mental health after the fallout of his very public relationship with Mariah Carey in 2016. 

The two had met in 2015 and were engaged by January the following year. However, by October 2016, the two announced that they had split. 

Mariah Carey and James Packer arrive at the 2016 G'Day Los Angeles Gala. Image: Getty Images

"I was engaged to Mariah Carey for a while. And that same week it came out that Mariah and I had broken up, she thought I'd planted a story in a magazine about it, which I hadn't, that made her look bad, " Packer told 7NEWS. 

"And so she was threatening to say things about me, and so it was a train wreck. It was a train wreck. The times that I've been at my worst, I've had a lot on my mind." 

Packer went on to seek professional help in late 2016 and went on to give up alcohol in 2017. He recalled an awful hallucination he suffered which prompted him to give up the bottle and reach out for help. 

"I had a hallucination and I was sober," he said, "I thought the world was against me. I thought people were… I'm too embarrassed to even say what it was. But when I had this hallucination, I resigned off all of my company boards. I called my mother and said, 'Mum, you've got to come and help me.'" 

Watch James Packer's full interview with 7NEWS Spotlight. Article continues after the video. 

Speaking about his previous relationships, Packer got candid about the impact his mental health struggles had on the breakdown of his two marriages with Jodhi Meares and Erica Packer. 

"I think my downs coincided with either being on the wrong medication or having too much stress at work and that's code for too much debt and problems with the business," he said.

He spoke fondly of his ex-wife, Erica, "I felt very guilty for my marriage to Erica not working. She deserved better than I gave, and I became self-destructive. Looking back, I definitely went into mania in 2013," he continued.

"As I look back, that probably cost me my marriage with Erica."

Despite the end of Packer's marriage to Erica, the two remain close friends and co-parents to their three children, Jackson, Indigo and Emmanuelle. 

After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2020, Packer revealed that he was prescribed a long list of medications to manage his conditions. 

"I was put on lithium in 2022," he said, "And within two weeks I was a zombie. I was a complete zombie." 

 James Packer and partner Erika Baxter pose during the AAMI Victorian Derby Day at Flemington in 2005. Images: Getty Images

These days, Packer says he is doing much better in terms of managing his mental health and has ongoing help to keep him on track day to day. 

"I'm on something and I'm really embarrassed what I'm about to say… I have a nurse that travels with me," he told 7NEWS about his current medications, "I couldn't tell you what I'm on because I'm on a bunch of things and someone does it for me." 

Talking to his physical health, Packer shared that, despite his weight gain, which he hopes to work on managing in the future, his mental health is in a much better place. 

"It's one thing at a time. I think I'm mentally a lot better than I was six months ago," he said, "I went into mania in 2022 and then, from 2022 until mid-23, I was on lithium.  So I lost weight. But mentally I wasn't great. And since then, I've put the weight on, but I've been mentally better." 

In line with his own battles, Packer is a financial backer of mental health initiatives in Australia. In 2023, Packer donated $7 million to mental health research at the University of NSW and established the James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders.

In a statement made at the time of his donation, Packer said, "It is no secret that I have struggled with mental health problems in the past. I am a passionate advocate of finding ways to improve mental health outcomes and I am hopeful that my contribution towards this research will generate positive outcomes in this field and in so doing significantly improve the lives of people battling mental health issues both in Australia and around the world."

Packer maintains that his honesty on the topic on mental health is in hopes that it can help at least one person who might see it.

"You're not interviewing someone who's saying to you, 'I've got it worked out and I've got all the answers'," he said. 

"I'm not that person. I'm here saying 'I'm doing my best'."

Feature image: Getty Images