'We were homeless': Mia Fevola reveals the toll of dad Brendan's gambling addiction on the family

Mia Fevola has spoken about stepfather Brendan Fevola's gambling addiction that threatened to tear their family's life apart.

The model and influencer, 26, revealed he once "gambled his whole yearly wage, a million dollars" during a candid admission on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! this week.

The former AFL star turned radio personality, 45, is married to Alex Fevola, 48, and Mia says the family were left "homeless" at one point due to his gambling.

Watch the video above.

"He stepped down from Carlton, got the trade to Brisbane... then got sacked in rehab," she shared with her campmates on the show.

"He gambled his whole yearly wage, a million dollars and then the bookies came after him and then didn't tell us. So my mum was like, 'Where's the pay?'"

In a candid piece to camera, Mia said she has "blocked" the gambling saga out of her mind.

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"The whole gambling situation, I blocked so much of it out, I think just as a defence mechanism," she explained.

"I know he gambled $363,000 in a day, but to be honest my mum tried very hard to protect us [Mia and her siblings] from all of these things.

"I only found out when people at school would tell me."

She said at one point, the family was forced to move in with their grandmother when they became "homeless".

"We just bought a house and didn't settle so we got sued, and then we were homeless because he gambled every cent ever that we had.''

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She said her mum went on to do the reality dance competition Dancing With The Stars and Brendan ''went to rehab'', and soon the family overcame the gambling issue.

''You know, my mum did Dancing With the Stars, and that's how we sort of got back on our feet. Dad went to rehab,'' she added.

Brendan reportedly filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and has spoken about his gambling addiction in the past.

"I did [lose a lot of our savings], hence why Alex left the first time when we were in Brisbane. She went back because of the gambling," he previously said on Fox FM.

"Now she looks after a lot of the accounts, which is good

"The worst thing is it didn't actually affect me too much but if affects your family and that's the bottom line, Alex and the kids.

"It's an addictive thing, it's a really bad addiction to have and it obviously cripples a lot of people's lives."

If you or someone you know needs support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858.

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