On February 23, Jeff Hardy's court case in realation to his June 2022 was officially closed. Hardy was arrested on June 13, 2022 in Volusia County, Florida and charged with DUI, driving with a suspended license and violating restrictions placed on a driver's license.
Jeff was credited for serving 38 days in jail. It was listed that he is on probation for 24 months and fined $4,000 with court costs listed as $586. His driver's license was listed as being suspended for 10 years.
Following his arrest in June, Jeff was suspended from AEW without pay until he finished substance abuse treatment.
On the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Jeff's brother Matt provided an update on Jeff.
"The first thing Jeff did whenever he got the opportunity, he traveled to Florida and stayed 90 days and did an extensive rehabilitation stint. Really intense work on himself. Even after those 90 days, he was doing outpatient, where he was going every week. He probably did 170 days altogether when it was said and done, on treatment on himself, being there and trying to rehabilitate himself and get to the bottom of this, 'why do you have issues? What causes this? How can we correct and change this?' It's one of those things, my brother, obviously, he's had so many addiction problems through the years, but he's never been this specific and in detail to try and work through it so much, really commit himself to this," said Matt.
Matt said that Jeff went to rehab for 30 days while he was in WWE in April 2021, but it was at the same time their dad was dying and it was tough for Jeff to focus on just rehab. He said that Jeff has now had time to process and have closure with their dad passing, allowing him to focus on himself, being better, and the rehab process.
"The reason I say it'll be different this time is because he went into it with a different mentality and he's never been this scared before. There was a lot of talk where they wanted him to go to prison for months and do this. They ended up working this deal where it was 30 days. One of the biggest things you're going to see with Jeff Hardy going forward is how he wants to share his story and help other people out. That's something he's been very adamant about already. He's been so motivated," said Matt.
Matt noted that Jeff was part of an intervention for a close friend who was struggling with alcohol and had liver problems. He said the intervention for the friend was just over a month ago. Matt reiterated multiple times throughout the conversation that Jeff wants to give back and help others who are struggling with addiction.
Matt said that alcohol is the worst addiction because it is so prominent.
"This last time, alcohol was harder than anything else for him to kick. There was a time when he first came to AEW where he would go weeks without doing anything, but once he would get that little...get a little started, it would quickly turn to an avalanche, and that's just how he is and how his personality is. I think he understands that now more. The fact that he had so much on the line, and legitimately, this could have cost him a large chunk of his life. He was trying to do the work in treatment, he had legal people trying to help him out as much as they could. At the end of the day, he's not someone who has done violent, bad things that come from a terrible place. He's someone who had an addiction problem. I hate it. There is no way to justify someone being intoxicated, getting behind the wheel, and driving. It can't be justified. In this day and age, it should never happen. The help that he went and got during this time, I've seen a different version of him, and it's not one trying to play the game. Don't take my word for it here. Follow him going forward and we'll see what happens. Could I be wrong? Of course I could, but this is the most drastically different I've seen my brother," said Matt.
Matt said multiple times that Jeff getting behind the wheel while intoxicated could not be justified and he did not condone what his brother did. He said Jeff has gone to extended lengths to reflect on things and is 100% committed.
Throughout the podcast, Matt and his co-host Jon Alba discussed how trauma may have affected Jeff's decisions throughout the years, with a big topic being the passing of their mother when they were young. Matt said that they made a promise to their mom that they would stay away from drugs and alcohol and they kept that promise throughout their school years.
Speaking about a potential in-ring return, Matt said, "That hasn't been talked about. Will it happen? Maybe. Maybe not. That isn't something that hasn't been talked about at all at this point and it certainly wasn't going to be like, his court case is done, he shows back up on AEW Dynamite."
Matt and Alba discussed how Jeff's style of wrestling and risk taking may have affected his addiction with Matt talking about changing his style to preserve his longevity.
When asked if Matt would talk to Jeff about changing his style, Matt said, "Yes. I already have. I've had it with him throughout the years. Whenever I wanted him to become Brother Nero at the beginning, I was having that conversation with him then. That's why I said he could no longer jump off the top rope. 'You're Jeff Hardy, you're a rockstar, people want to see Jeff Hardy. I know you feel so committed and passionate and you want to give them a whisper in the wind and swanton every single night. You can do those things when the time is right. Pick and choose. Be smart. You're not just Jeff Hardy the wrestler anymore, you're Jeff Hardy the father, the husband, the family man. You have to think about that.'"
It was said throughout the podcast that Matt was not trying to rehabilitate Jeff or speak for him, but that Jeff isn't the type of person who will speak about things for 45 minutes in a social media video, so he was doing his best to provide as much insight into his brother as he could from his perspective.
Matt was in action on Wednesday's AEW Dynamite, losing to HOOK. Fans can find results from AEW Dynamite by clicking here.
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