Fallen footy superstar Ben Barba reveals he tried to kill himself during an all-night bender that ended in an infamous row with the mother of his kids who had to ‘run in and stop me’

• Crisis-plagued ex-footy star reveals he tried to kill himself in drunken 2013 bid
• Only the intervention of the mother of his four daughters saved his life, he says
• Suicide attempt came after two day bender left him shaking and unable to stand
• It sparked a domestic violence investigation after partner’s mouth was injured 

Fallen footy superstar Ben Barba has revealed how his glittering career unravelled in a boozed-up suicide bid amid allegations of domestic violence after a two-day bender.

The full dramatic details of his shocking fall from grace in 2013 have been laid bare for the first time as he admits he tried to strangle himself in a drunken stupor.

And only the intervention of his partner and mother of his four daughters, aged five to 13, saved his life.

The troubled one-time Canterbury Bulldogs hero – who was forced to find work as a scaffolder after his footy career ended – was once the toast of the NRL as the top try scorer of 2012, with a Dally M Medal in his back pocket.

But that all came tumbling down after a February 2013 Friday night pre-season match against the Canberra Raiders in Goulburn.

After the team bus returned to the club’s Belmore HQ in Sydney’s south-west, he joined a gang of team-mates dubbed the Epic Bender Crew for a 36-hour drinking session.

In the early hours of the following Sunday morning, Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg got a frantic phone call from mum of four Ainslie Currie, Barba’s long-term girlfriend until their recent split.

She reportedly told Greenberg that Barba had turned up at their Caringbah apartment and had a ‘heated row’ with her – and she was terrified the star was about to self-harm.

 But Barba has now revealed he had already tried.

‘I haven’t told too many people this, but that day I tried to take my own life,’ Barba, 32, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘That’s when Ainslie ran in and tried to stop me from strangling myself. I owe my life to her for reacting like that.’

It sparked a cascading series of controversies for Barba and the club after Currie met with Greenberg and Bulldogs coach Des Hasler later that day.