Savage Garden’s Darren Hayes broke his jaw, lost consciousness in ‘terrible’ accident: ‘I could have died’

Darren Hayes is on the mend following a near-fatal injury.

The Savage Garden singer, 52, took to Instagram on Friday to reveal how he suffered a “terrible accident” last month in which he lost consciousness and broke his jaw.

“On March 17, 2 months to the day after my Mother passed away, I had a terrible accident,” Hayes wrote alongside a startling photo of his recovery. “I’ve been trying to keep it private but my lengthy recovery period means it’s easier to admit the truth.”

Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes underwent emergency surgery after fainting and breaking his jaw on March 17. darrenhayes/Instagram

An X-ray of Darren Hayes’ broken jaw and the titanium brace surgeons inserted during the singer’s emergency procedure. darrenhayes/Instagram

Hayes said that he “fainted shortly after getting out of bed” and “collapsed 3 times.” He suffered a “snapped” jawbone and “shattered” nine of his teeth.

“I lost consciousness – I fainted shortly after getting out of bed and collapsed 3 times, losing consciousness each time,” the “Break Me Shake Me” musician wrote. “The blunt force trauma was so severe it snapped my left jawbone in half.”

“I woke up in a pool of blood,” he added, “terrible pain in my left side of my head and with 9 teeth shattered.”

Darren Hayes performs at the Canal Room on Nov. 28, 2007, in New York City. Getty Images

Hayes explained that he was discovered on the floor and rushed to the emergency room. He also admitted that he “could have died” if he had not landed the way he did.

“I’m so lucky that I was found, and taken to the amazing team at the emergency room of St John’s Providence in Santa Monica, where they acted quickly,” the “Crash and Burn” crooner said. “I could have died if I landed in a different position.”

After doctors established that Hayes’ injury was not related to “heart issues” or “anything neurological,” he underwent “emergency reconstructive surgery” on March 21.

Darren Hayes of Savage Garden and his then-wife, Colby Taylor, at the 15th Annual MTV Video Music Awards in September 1998. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

“The incredible surgeons inserted a titanium brace to re-connect my jaw bones and my mouth was wired shut for a minimum of 8 weeks while the left jaw bone could heal,” he wrote alongside an X-ray of his broken jaw.

Hayes and his doctors, who ruled out drugs and alcohol, are now “trying to work out how and why I have been fainting.”

“So far my heart is normal, my arteries are normal and I don’t have a brain tumor or anything that could cause the accident,” he said. “No judgement [sic] to those who partake but I do not take drugs or drink alcohol – this was a complete shock.”

Darren Hayes arriving at the 2011 APRA Music Awards on June 21, 2011, in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images

“But we are still investigating,” Hayes explained, adding that he’ll be “out of action for quite some time” as his jaw heals and his teeth are replaced.

The “Truly Madly Deeply” vocalist added that the “terrible accident” came not just in the wake of his mother’s death in January but also after his divorce from his ex-husband, artist Richard Cullen, in 2023 and after learning that his father had also passed away.

“I’m so grateful to my loved ones for coming to my rescue and to the doctors and nurses who have treated me with such care,” Hayes wrote. “After surviving a brutal divorce, losing my Mother, finding out my father died and then this I have had moments of deep sadness.”

A photo Darren Hayes took for Instagram two months before his shocking fall.

“But I am a survivor,” he concluded the post, “and I’ll come back strong.”

Hayes and Daniel Jones, 51, made up the Australian pop duo Savage Garden before they split in 2001. They rose to fame in the 1990s and early 2000s with hit songs like “I Want You” and “To the Moon and Back.”

Although Jones reportedly retired from music following the band’s split, Hayes still toured and forged a successful solo career before his traumatizing fall last month.

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