Former Australian magazine editor Nene King says she was depressed and abusing drugs when a friend who allegedly fleeced her of more than $40,000.

Ms King, the former editor of both Woman’s Day and the Australian Women’s Weekly, said she “went off the rails” and began smoking marijuana after her father and husband died in 1996.

“I got depressed, I was very, very, very unhappy,” she told the County Court of Victoria on Tuesday.

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“I just tried to sabotage my own life. I didn’t care.”

Ms King’s former friend Colin Hahne is standing trial, accused of withdrawing thousands from Ms King’s accounts and using her bank card to pay for hotel bookings on various dates in 2009, without her permission.

The pair met in 2007 after Hahne began a relationship with Ms King’s housemate, Larry Sutcliffe, the court heard.

Ms King said she asked Hahne if he wanted to move into her Caulfield South home with them, after he told her he was embroiled in legal proceedings and didn’t have any money.

The men looked after her and she enjoyed their company, she said.

She “paid for everything” when they lived with her, Ms King told the court.

Nene King outside court in 2013. Photo: ABC

“I was spending money, I was paying the bills. I bought a $6000 watch for Colin,” she said.

“I guess I was sick.”

Ms King had a lot of money when her magazine career finished, she said.

“I was named the richest woman in Australian publishing,” she explained.

But in 2009, she had to put a $250,000 mortgage against her home and sell shares when her money began “running short”, Ms King said.

She called Hahne from the US when her AMEX card bounced at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, she said.

“I ranted and raved and screamed and said, `what have you done?’,” Ms King said.

Hahne’s defence lawyers say Ms King’s spending was out of control.

Ms King admitted she did buy expensive clothes and bags.

“I was sort of looking for something to make me feel happy,” she said.

Hahne has pleaded not guilty to 49 deception-related charges.

The trial continues.

-AAP