Patrick Gower has revealed he's been sober now for almost six months after a confronting conversation with his friend Corin Dann.
On Tuesday, Gower, Newshub's National Correspondent, revealed in his documentary Patrick Gower: On Booze how a conversation with his former reporting rival was the catalyst for change.
Dann warned Gower he "can't see how it ends well" for him if he continues to drink alcohol at the same rate, and Gower admitted he wanted to give up, but "just can't".
But being faced with the level of concern his friends and colleagues had for his health spurred Gower into action and he decided to quit alcohol.
On Wednesday Gower kicked off his panel show Newshub Talks Booze by revealing to Dann he's nearly made it half a year so far.
"Six months on Saturday will be six months sober for me, which is awesome," Gower said to audience applause.
"I do want to take this opportunity now to actually say from the bottom of my heart bro, I'm so thankful for what you said that day and what you did because you changed my life."
"I've kept it secret from the public but people that knew me were suspicious from the first BBQ on the first weekend when I turned up without drinking and they were like 'what's going on with Paddy? He's not drinking'.
"It's been an awesome feeling to get it out now and have thousands of people supporting me and I'm so glad it's not a secret… I'm so proud of it."
Dann asked Gower how feels after six months on the wagon, to which he replied: "Amazing."
"I just feel fantastic. I'm so much calmer. I've lost a lot of weight, I sleep so much better. But the main thing to be honest is I feel in control of something… and that has just given me a whole new level of vibe and zest. I just feel like I'm in control."
And the big question, will Gower ever drink again?
"The workshopped answer is I hope not to drink again but who knows what's going to happen in the future and if I do drink again I won't drink in the same way again," Gower said.
"But the honest answer that I want to say is that I don't ever want to drink again. I worked that out myself over the last six months and I just don't want to bro."
Watch the full Patrick Gower: On Booze documentary on-demand at ThreeNow. And the conversation around booze continues when Gower hosts Newshub Talks Booze live at 8:30pm Wednesday on Three and ThreeNow.
