Victoria Rose O'Callaghan has opened up about her estranged husband, former England rugby star Danny Cipriani, claiming that his ‘psychotic episodes’ on drugs contributed to the end of their marriage.
The once happily married couple met in 2020 and quickly fell in love. However, it wasn’t long before ‘red flags’ began to emerge. Recalling their very first night together, Victoria claimed she saw Danny “popping” Xanax pills, a fast-acting and potent tranquilizer most commonly used for anxiety disorders, which he said was to help with a knee injury.
The former England fly-half’s struggles with drugs date back years, with Danny opening up about his drug use in his candid 2023 autobiography, Who Am I?. In the book, Danny spoke about being sent to rehab after cracking his skull while on magic mushrooms.
In a new interview, Victoria claimed that Danny's behaviour escalated during their relationship, saying that the extent of Danny’s drug use became clear after moving into his Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, home and she would see “£500 to £600 worth” of chocolate bars infused with the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin. She also said that his marijuana would arrive in a brown parcel “the size of a pillow".
Speaking to the MailOnline, Victoria revealed one terrifying episode after taking drugs when Danny thought she was the Devil. She alleged: “He ran down the street naked, hit his hip on a passing car, then jumped up like nothing happened. I managed to coax him inside, but he ran out again, launching himself backwards down a flight of stone steps, smashing his head so hard I thought he was dead."
Following that instance, Danny, who is currently appearing on Netflix’s reality survival show Celebrity Bear Hunt, starring Bear Grylls and hosted by Holly Willoughby, went to The Priory to recover.
At the time, Victoria was 23 weeks pregnant but later that week, she miscarried their baby son, River, while Danny was still recuperating from the overdose.
The athlete opened about the tragic incidence in his autobiography. "At 24 weeks we lost River, our son," he wrote, before adding, "It was and is always going to be difficult, but we supported each other through it and found our love grew and got strong."
After they got married in April 2021, Victoria said that for a time, Danny appeared to be changing. However it wasn't long before his drug use crept back in, with him "micro dosing" mushrooms, believing they connected him to nature and God.
Following the couple's unsuccessful IVF attempts, Victoria claimed their marriage began to unravel. "I was fed up hearing about his psychedelic fantasies. Why wasn’t I enough?" she asked. "I was terrified he’d have another psychotic episode and kill himself."
According to the Victoria, the final straw came in 2024 when she found messages on Danny's phone after he sat with another woman at an event. At the time, Danny wrote in a lengthy statement: "After stories being brought to my attention, I'd like to clarify, I have broken up with Victoria for the only reason being we are not right for each other."
The Mirror has approached Danny Cipriani for comment.