In an exclusive Hot Press interview, conducted by Hot Press Senior Editor Jason O’Toole, Nikki Hayes speaks for the first time about her sexual interest in women. Nikki, who has just started her new eponymous radio show on Classic Hits 4FM, is not so much shedding her inhibitions as shredding them. It’s probably safe to say that no Irish public figure has ever spoken with such refreshing candour about sex as Nikki does in Hot Press.

Nikki also talks with fierce honesty about her wild partying days, the drugs she took – and explains why she’s decided to give up the booze.

Nikki, who confesses that she has been celibate since breaking up with her husband over 18 months ago, also reveals that she questioned her sexuality in her formative years, prompting her to go online to seek out a woman to experiment with.

The latest edition of Hot Press is a special Mental Health Issue. Under the ‘Now We’re Talking’ banner, it features an extraordinary special supplement, in which 100 high profile Irish public figures speak out, to help break the stigma associated with mental health.

This is an issue on which Nikki Hayes can speak with great authority.

Having struggled with mental health issues since her teens, the popular broadcaster suffered with post-natal depression after the birth of her now four-year-old daughter Farrah. She was subsequently diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. As if all that weren’t enough, Nikki then found herself dealing with the breakup of her marriage.

On finding women attractive, Nikki says, “I appreciate the feminine form. I can sit back and say, ‘She’s gorgeous’. I’ve often turned around to different boyfriends and said, ‘Look at her! She’s drop dead gorgeous’. Or, ‘She’s a ride’. I appreciate someone alongside him. But I don’t know about having a relationship with a woman – never say never, I suppose.”

Asked what type of drugs she’s tried, Nikki admits: “God! Everything. It was back when anything kind of went. It was speed, ecstasy, hash, acid. Whatever was going around the club, you took.”

However, she made it very clear that she never tried cocaine or heroin: “No. In college, I did experiment with a good few things. I’m proud to say that it was a college experiment that ended in college. But, at the same time, there was a period that it was hairy.”

On being celibate, Nikki says: “I’ve literally joined the nunnery (laughs). A year-and-a-half of celibacy. God love the next person who meets me (laughs).”

On her marriage break-up, Nikki admits that her battle with mental health played a huge role in the breakdown of their marriage: “Yeah, it was one of the main reasons. Frank tried and tried and tried to live with it and live through it. But it’s not an easy thing to live with and it just got too much. So, it most definitely impacted on us.”

On using dating apps, Nikki says: “I tried recently and it’s just not for me. My friend Linda, she’s a lot younger than me, she said, ‘Yeah, come on let’s do this. And let’s do that’. She signed me up to Tinder and I hated it. It was basically offers of sex. It was like, ‘Am I coming over to yours tonight?’ And I’m like, ‘What! No! I don’t even know your name.’”

And she talks about how long she has lived with Borderline Personality Disorder. Nikki explains: “They think I had it as far back as my childhood. They think from the first time I presented when I was 15 with the anorexia – that was Borderline Personality Disorder. But every time I just kept getting treated for something different. So, first of all it was an eating disorder, then it was a suicide attempt, then it was self-harm.”

Nikki Hayes also offers unique insights into what it means to live with Borderline Personality Disorder. It's an interview that really must be read in full…

The special Mental Health Issue of Hot Press is on sale from Thursday, 27 September.