Kay Walters in S02E05 of The Newsreader 💜📺
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Kay was grateful to see Helen and Noelene.
It had been hard to gather them today for the interview at such notice, but she now sat on the lounge of a hotel room that would be her space until Monday.
“So umm, Kay, I know that you’re familiar with the media, but my questions are gonna be pretty frank.” Helen disclosed. “I’m gonna ask you about your drug use and about your treatment, and I’m gonna talk about your family history and family dynamic.”
Kay fished out photos of simpler times from childhood, giving permission for these to go to air.
“I’m not the only person you’re speaking with?” Kay double checked.
“No, the final story will include a range of perspectives on the heroin crisis,” Noelene reassured her, and Helen got her some cash to get her through the weekend.
“So how much were you spending?” Helen asked once the cameras began rolling.
“Hundreds of dollars a day,” Kay admitted.
“What makes it so addictive?” Helen queried.
“It’s like… your problems don’t exist. But heroin wasn’t some kind of escape for me. It was a life raft.” Kay contextualised.
Helen glanced down momentarily. “You know, some people would find it pretty hard to understand why someone with your kind of life advantages would need that kind of life raft.”
It was true that Kay had an advantageous upbringing. She rode horses, lived in a big home, and went overseas as a child.
“But it was drilled into me that what we had was only because my father was famous and well-respected, and if I did anything to compromise that… I was a disappointment and I was shamed.”
Kay didn’t think she was what her parents had imagined for their life, so she tried to be a different version of herself; their model daughter. The air was heavy in the room, for everyone.
“Do you love your parents?” Helen questioned.
Tears welled in Kay’s eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Do you think your parents love you, Kay?” Helen posed.
Kay’s lip quivered. “I think they do. But there are two types of families in this world; the families where the parents choose the children, and the families where they choose each other over the children. Rehab is… it’s full of the latter.”