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‘I didn’t expect it’: Candice Warner blindsided by SAS reaction
Retired Ironwoman and mum of three Candice Warner has revealed she was blindsided by fans’ reaction to her time on SAS Australia on the back of her shock exit last night.
Speaking exclusively to Yahoo Lifestyle, Candice opened up about the ‘overwhelming’ experience of watching Australia’s perspective on her, her husband and her family shift from negativity to an outpouring of support.
“The fact that this show has changed people’s perception and opinions of myself and my husband and our family has been the cherry on the top,” she says.
“I’ve never had this amount of support, it’s been incredibly overwhelming and I didn’t ever expect it [going into the show] to be honest.”
Fans ‘devastated’ as Candice forced to leave early
The mum of three was a favourite among fans as she showed her grit and determination tackling challenge after challenge on the show, and left them devastated when she was asked to leave in a shocking twist on Tuesday evening.
“I’ve had so much great feedback from last night, people were truly devastated for me, because they could see how hard I was working and how much it meant to me and everyone was cheering me on,” she says.
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She reveals she was as shocked as viewers when she was asked to leave the course, being totally blindsided by the DS’s decision.
“It was really odd when we stood on the parade square and they read my number out,” she says. “Not just myself, but a few other recruits were in shock. It’s hard because you don’t get an explanation it’s just, you’re out.”
Candice ‘overwhelmed’ by turn in public opinion
Before the show aired, Candice had had a rocky experience of public scrutiny between the vicious, and unending, response to her hook up with Sonny Bill Williams in 2007, and her husband, cricketer David Warner’s ball-tampering, and sledging scandal in 2018.
She says now, she’s flooded with messages from people who are inspired by her journey, saying the experience is ‘really touching’.
“I wasn’t expecting this outpour of messages on Instagram where people have been messaging me and spilling their hearts out to me about their experiences in life, and how I’ve inspired them,” she says. “It’s been very overwhelming.”
She says the support has come from all sorts, but particularly fellow mums and others who, as she says ‘may have stuffed up earlier on in their lives and are still holding on to that and are still being judged for that’.
“So many people have been in similar situations to mine and they can resonate with my story and that to me is really touching,” she says.
Candice and Firass Dirani became the eight and ninth recruits to exit the show on Tuesday evening’s episode, leaving just seven of the original 17 left to battle it out for the final team.
SAS Australia airs 7:30 pm Monday on Channel 7.
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