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'I was a heroin addict': Beloved McLeod's Daughters star Zoe Naylor reveals for the first time her crippling drug addiction

The actress played beloved Regan McLeod on the drama McLeod's Daughters for five years
Before finding fame as an actress, Zoe suffered a crippling heroin addiction
The now 39-year-old detailed her journey to recovery after being in denial about her addiction

She is best known for her role as Regan McLeod on Australian drama McLeod's Daughters.

But on Thursday, Zoe Naylor revealed details of her life before she found fame as an actress, admitting she battled a drug addiction.

'In my late teens and early 20s, I was a heroin addict,' the 39-year-old said during an interview on Channel Seven's The Daily Edition.

She continued by saying that she blamed her boyfriend and thought that is was 'just a phase' in her life, instead of taking responsibility for what she was doing to herself.

'I was a clichéd overachiever - I was head girl of my school, had a scholarship to Uni,' she said.

And despite believing that the path of a heroin addict could never be her 'story', she said it did become hers.

When asked by Sally Bowrey whether she realised how deep into a terrible addiction she was, Zoe replied: 'Well of course.'

The McLeod's Daughters actress admitted she had a 'history of addiction', but at the time of her drug phase, she wasn't aware she had a real problem.

'I would've termed myself a party girl or a good time girl,' the now mother-of-two said.

'I really didn't know that I had that issue (addiction).'

However, she recalled how, seven years ago, she embarked on a journey of 'awakening' or 'recovery' and has since dealt with her addiction head on.

Zoe and husband Aaron Jeffrey married in 2010, and the couple have two children together - Sophie, four, and Beau, who they welcomed in May.

The couple met and fell in love after playing farmers on McLeod's Daughters.

At the time, Aaron was one of the biggest names in Australian television, thanks to his role on the hit drama in the early 2000s, off the back of his roles on 90s drama Water Rats.

However the couple moved away from the limelight and to a small community in the Blue Mountains called Bilpin.

Zoe is now very focused on her journey of awakening, and encouraging others to connect with themselves and find their own centre.

She also stressed the importance of battling addiction - in whatever form finds the individual, for example, social media.

'It's an undercurrent of anxiety where you're looking to numb out or feel better by an external source,' she said.

'So to me, a journey of recovery is about finding that ease within yourself.'