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SAS star Isabelle Cornish on what 'drove her to leave' days after injury

With a fresh new batch of celebrity recruits set to test their mettle on SAS Australia, season two star Isabelle Cornish is reflecting on her own experience which unfortunately came to a premature end.

The former Home and Away cast member got off to a cracking start on the gruelling military-style show but was forced to pull out in episode nine due to injury.

A selfie of Isabelle Cornish with glamorous blonde hair and red lipstick. Photo: Instagram/isabellecornish.
Former Home and Away star Isabelle Cornish has opened up about her time on SAS Australia in 2021. Photo: Instagram/isabellecornish.

Despite pressure from the zealous DS (Directing Staff) to remain, Isabelle, 27, stuck to her guns and handed in her numbered armband.

It was a difficult decision at the time but it turned out to be the right one, as the Aussie star tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

"I'd actually broken my right hip, the femoral neck of my right hip," she says. "I hurt myself on day three [of the course] and then I just kept going and going, I absolutely love doing challenges like that."

As a yoga teacher, personal trainer and health coach, Isabelle was not only fighting fit before SAS but she'd also done a lot of work to strengthen her emotional and mental wellbeing.

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Isabelle Cornish wears camouflage clothing while abseiling on SAS Australia next to an x-ray of her hip stress fracture. Photo: Channel 7, Instagram/isabellecornish.
Isabelle suffered a stress fracture in her hip during SAS. Photo: Channel 7, Instagram/isabellecornish.

That holistic preparation stood her in good stead when, by day 10, she couldn't ignore the pain anymore. Isabelle recalls asking herself, Should I push through for the next few days, or is my health and my body more important to me?

"I went to my [core] values in that moment, and I was like, 'No, because if I hurt myself any worse than what I am right now, my life's not gonna be what I need it to be after this show,'" she explains.

"[The DS] tried to convince me [to stay] but I'd gone back to my heart and my values and that's what drove me to leave in that moment."

Isabelle is sure that she would have been convinced to stay — and potentially injure herself further — if she hadn't spent time defining what she did and didn't want to do, and why, before donning her camo gear and rucksack.

Isabelle Cornish smiles while wearing a green crop top and bike shorts in the bush. Photo: Instagram/isabellecornish.
The Aussie star is also a yoga teacher, personal trainer and a health coach. Photo: Instagram/isabellecornish.

"If I didn't have that clarity, I might not have understood what decision I wanted to make. There's nothing like the feeling of, 'Oh, I'm not sure, back and forth, back and forth.'"

Isabelle tells Yahoo Lifestyle that penning her new wellness book, The Why: Healthy Habits For An Epic Life helped her achieve the clarity that made walking away from SAS possible.

Now, she wants to pass that knowledge and insight on to others.

"The Why is a no bulls**t health and wellness guidebook," she says. "A lot of the health industry is overcomplicated and OTT, and my beliefs aren't about, you know, eating kale and going for a run."

Isabelle knows from her own past experiences with mental health issues and an eating disorder that fresh veggies and exercise are just two ingredients for living a healthy life.

Isabelle Cornish smiles while holding her book, The Why. Photo: Instagram/isabellecornish.
Isabelle with her new no-nonsense health and wellness book, The Why. Photo: Instagram/isabellecornish.

"It's all about positivity and how a compassionate relationship with the self can help the reader through all of life's ups and downs."

From setting boundaries to implementing bite-sized daily habits and letting go of pain, The Why is a wellness guidebook without the fuss.

"It's not about OTT health wellness routines. I see these people on podcasts with three to four-hour-long morning routines," she chuckles. "I'm like no, 10 minutes, just 10 minutes, start there. If you want to do an hour-long routine, cool, but you don't have to."

And it seems like there are no hard feelings between Isabelle and the DS, with Mark 'Billy' Billingham providing a glowing testimony for the front cover of The Why;

"Isabelle Cornish is living proof that you can always bounce back and find the strength to go further."

The Why: Healthy Habits For An Epic Life by Isabelle Cornish is out now.

For confidential support about eating disorders and body image issues, you can free call the Butterfly Foundation National Hotline on 1800 33 4673.

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