When it comes to cricket WAG and former champion ironwoman Candice Warner, one thing is certain – she sure knows how to get Australia talking.
Determined to show her daughters Ivy, six, Indi, four, and 16-month-old Isla that she’s qualified for more than just making school lunches, she never expected her brood would become SAS Australia‘s biggest fans!
“The girls love the show – they’ve tossed aside the Barbie dolls and now play SAS! I’ve let them watch the adventure stuff and shielded them from things they don’t need to see,” Candice, 35, tells Woman’s Day from her beachside home in Sydney’s east.
“They worried about me being cold, but when I got upset on the show, they called me a crybaby – they’re so cheeky!”
Protecting her girls and cricketer husband David, 34, has always been Candice’s number one priority.
She’s not comfortable talking any more about the tough interrogation that saw her grilled by the intense Directing Staff over her infamous 2007 nightclub toilet dalliance with football star Sonny Bill Williams.
Candice’s number one priority is her three adorable children.
(Instagram: Instagram)“I’ve never felt so stripped bare… to feel that vulnerable on the one hand, and yet on the other, to feel this enormous weight lift from my shoulders,” Candice says matter of factly.
Over the years, Candice has been slammed by online trolls, with much of the criticism aimed at her past. But the mother-of-three is too excited for the future to dwell on all that.
“I’ve grown a thicker skin and I’ve had a gutful of the online keyboard cowards who think it’s OK to spray their vitriol over social media platforms,” she insists.
“The only time I’ve ever taken offence was the time I was accused of being a bad mother. That cut deep because I know I’m a really good mum and a wonderful wife.”
Asked about the bitter feud with her former friend and agent, PR queen Roxy Jacenko, after a boxing match turned ugly on set, Candice remains unsurprisingly dignified.
“There’s no need for a war of words. I feel a tremendous sense of sadness for her and am disappointed it went this way. I did apologise afterwards but that never made it to air,” she explains.
Despite being closer than ever during the Ball Tampering Scandal, Roxy and Candice have since ended their friendship.
(Images: Getty)“She’s been very good to me over the years. We’re going in different directions and it was time to move on,” says Candice, who confirmed last week on a radio interview she’d fulfil her contractual obligations with Roxy until the end of November.
But Candice would rather talk about the new friends she made while filming, including her unlikely bonds with one of the funniest men in the country and a young man with the kindest of hearts.
“Jackson [Warne] – what a wonderful credit to his mum and dad. He’s very shy and introverted, and well beyond his years in wisdom,” she says.
“Merrick [Watts] and I bonded and were like the mum and dad in the group, making sure everyone got their clothes dry and had enough food.
The punch that ended a friendship!
(Image: Seven)“Erin [McNaught] and Ali [Oetjen] are little pocket rockets, and Schapelle [Corby], what a gentle soul. And then there’s Firass [Dirani]… he’s so misunderstood and is actually a really good person – he just needs to zip it!”
“No one understands there are no cuts in production – you’re shivering cold 24/7, and you never know what’s coming next,” she adds.
”I prepared physically and trained so hard but nothing prepares you for the tough mental stuff – it’s changed my life in a way I never thought was possible.”
Candice says she enjoyed getting to know former Bachelorette, Ali Oetjen.
(Image: Seven)Safely home after shooting the epic series, Candice and her girls are back into their normal routine of school drop-offs and weekend days on the beach, while David is away in Dubai playing cricket.
“I just want the girls to know that in life, some of your greatest pains become some of your greatest strengths,” says Candice.
“SAS has shown them how strong men and women like our group can do anything they want if they work hard, [and that] women can lead from the front. That said, they still think I’m a crybaby and love nothing more than giving their mum cuddles – kids will always be kids and just love unconditionally. Thankfully, that will never change!”
