2 weeks ago
10
Bailey Smith says he spent four weeks in a psych ward last year after suffering an injury that threatened to railroad his bourgeoning career.
The 24-year-old attended the AFL Awards night on Wednesday to celebrate his selection in the All Australian team and AFLCA coaches award in his first season with Geelong.
Smith missed the 2024 season having injured his ACL during a training session in December 2023 with his first club, the Western Bulldogs. At the time, he joked about the injury, writing, 'ah well, she'll be right' on social media.
On stage, however, Smith revealed he had struggled with the mental impact of the injury and checked himself into a psych ward last year after taking some time off in Europe.
'It was about a year ago I got out of a psych ward, I was in Epworth Camberwell for like four weeks,' he said.
'I got a couple of hours out a day, and I spent that sort of training and I went through a really dark time.
'I know it's just an injury but until you sort of experience it, and have a sense of identity sort of taken away and some teething issues with moving clubs and outside noise... so I'm super grateful to be on the other side of it.'
Last August, the footballing heartthrob also suffered another setback when he split with his girlfriend of two years Gemma Dawkins. He has recently struck up a new relationship with Gold Coast influencer Tammy Hembrow.
Bailey Smith (pictured centre; left, host Mark Howard; right, Noah Anderson) revealed he spent four weeks in a psych ward last year after struggling with the fallout of his ACL injury.
Smith has recently struck up a romantic relationship with Tammy Hembrow (pictured as she put on a very busty display at a fashion event in Melbourne on Wednesday)
Smith (above) said he initially felt 'emasculated' about needing help, but came to view mental health treatment like physical rehab
Smith said he was grateful for the support of his family and manager in getting through it.
The news stunned the room into silence, before host Mark Howard asked if he could share more.
'It was obviously voluntary to go in. I still see my psych today, it helps me. Initially I felt, not weak, but emasculated a little bit, needing to reach out for help,' Smith said.
'I think I just changed my mindset from if you have an injury you need to rehab it in the gym. If you have an injury mentally it's just rehabbing and keeping on top of that. It's just going to the gym for your (physical) fitness, I'm going for my mental fitness.
'Changing my mindset around that, the word gets thrown around a lot these days — mental health — as an excuse in some cases and it's not a sympathy 'poor me: thing, it's just more to raise awareness that you can put your hand up.
'Tough period but wouldn't change it for the world. It always makes sense in retrospect. Just know whatever dark period you're going through one day it'll make sense.'
Smith was commended for his 'incredible honesty' on social media after the interview.
'(His) honesty reminds us that behind every athlete is a human being who struggles too,' Perth Wildcats basketballer Greg Hire wrote.
The Geelong star (pictured) credited his family and manager for supporting him through a difficult time away from football
'Dark moments don't define us – speaking up does.'
'That was unreal from Bailey Smith,' the GWS Giants account wrote on X.
'Loved it! Well done Bailey,' one punter added.
'The sporting world needs more people with real stories about this sort of thing. Like he says, mental health can get thrown around a lot and the message often loses some meaning, having role models with real stories can go a long way,' another added.
Following his injury and relationship split Smith was at the centre of several controversies in the 2025 season.
He was fined $1,000 for flipping both middle fingers at an Adelaide fan as he walked off the field in April.
He was later cautioned by AFL CEO Andrew Dillon in May for writing an Instagram comment suggesting he could consume some 'nose beers' if the Cats win the flag.
The Geelong star was fined $1,000 earlier this year for flipping both middle fingers at a fan in Adelaide (above), before he was warned about a mischievous social media comment alluding to drug usage
He was recently spotted kissing fitness influencer Tammy Hembrow (pictured hand-in-hand) on the Gold Coast following her split from Matt Zukowski
Smith split from long-term girlfriend Gemma Dawkins (pictured together) last August after two years together
Most recently, Smith was spied with Hembrow, seven years his senior, making out at a Burleigh Heads restaurant on the Gold Coast.
Hembrow split with Love at First Sight star husband Matt Zukowski in June, after eight months of marriage.
Since Daily Mail Australia broke news of their budding romance, Zukowski admitted he felt 'hurt' seeing his former partner move on so quickly after their break-up.
One of Smith's former flames, Izzy Armitage later told a podcast 'a high-profile ex' had cheated on her in the past.
She said someone texted her 'my friend slept with your boyfriend in Adelaide'.
'I'm like, 'Oh my God, oh my God', [my] heart sinks,' she told the Hear Me Out podcast.
'I could have probably just believed it in that moment in time, that he did do that, but I'm so in love. I needed more time to allow myself to believe it.'
Smith is set to take the field when the Cats, who finished second on the ladder, face Brisbane, 3, on September 5 at the MCG for their qualifying final.
