Abbey Holmes will never be able to forget just how tough SAS Australia was. Her body will always bear the marks of the brutal exercises she and her fellow recruits were put through, some of which never even made it to air.
“I have a lot of scarring on my elbows from crawling through the desert with those beastings [harsh training to instil discipline] in the night,” Abbey, 32, tells TV WEEK.
Abbey is now an AFL field commentator.
(Image: Supplied)“They’ll probably be with me forever now, but it’s a nice reminder of what we went through.”
The former AFLW player, who’s now an AFL field commentator, was “the scaredest I’ve ever been” facing her fear of heights on the show.
But having been subjected to relentless online trolling early in her broadcasting career (“I was getting smashed left, right and centre for being a woman in a male-dominated industry”), Abbey appreciated the chance to prove herself against male recruits.
Abbey is preparing to wed former AFL player Keegan Brooksby.
(Image: Supplied)“If the boys are carrying 40 kilos up a sand dune, the women are carrying 40 kilos up a sand dune as well,” she says. “I loved that, because you can show that you can step up and really match it with the boys.”
With the show having finished filming months ago, Abbey is currently focused on preparing for her wedding to former AFL player Keegan Brooksby.
“We’re talking weeks, not months, now,” she reveals. “I’m so excited.”
Abbey says Keegan is “so proud” of how she’s doing on SAS Australia.
“I think he’s proud of me for getting out there and continuing to push the limits,” she says. “I don’t want life to be comfortable. I always want to be challenging myself.”
