Candice Warner reveals why she finally spoke about her ‘toilet tryst’ demons

Sixteen years after Candice Warner was publicly shamed for her “bathroom appointments” with Sonny Bill Williams, the former Ironwoman is taking back her power.

The mother of three is ready to tell her story, on her own terms, in her new book Running Strong: Falling, Rising, Breathing, on sale now.

In it she describes the depression she suffered after being caught in a toilet cubicle with rugby star Williams during a night out at the Clovelly Hotel in 2007.

Candice, just 22 years old and trying to navigate life in the public eye as an athlete and model, found it difficult to deal with the humiliation and subsequent fall from grace, even contemplating suicide.

Now happily married to Australian cricketer David Warner, with whom she shares three daughters, Candice is no longer afraid to talk openly about her past. .

“My aim is to tell my story in a way that hopefully helps other people, empowers people,” Candice told the Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, as she put reporter Ciara O’Loughlin through an intense workout at the Acero- gym in sydney.

“If you get knocked down, you can get back up. That if you hit rock bottom, it allows you to start over, to reassess your life,” she added.

‘Where do you want to go? What do you want to be known for? Who do you want around you?

“So the story is about picking yourself up again, being resilient and how I did it.”

The 38-year-old, who shares Ivy Mae, eight, Indi Rae, seven, and Isla Rose, three, with her husband David, 36, said the main reason she decided to write the book was so her little girls could do it read. one day.

The tipping point where she realized she had to face her demons head on came in 2020 when she took part in SAS Australia.

During the grueling military-style show, she was grilled about her tryst with Williams and burst into tears as she revealed how she lost everything in the scandal.

After bravely recounting her experience then, she decided it was time to tell her full story.

“It wasn’t until I did SAS a few years ago that people started saying, ‘You have to do a podcast or you have to write a book,’” she explained.

“As my daughters get older — my eldest will be nine this year and she’s very curious — I wanted to write it for them so they could read it one day and get my story in my words, rather than an interrupted version where they are fed things or read things that are not necessarily correct.’

She continued, “When you’re in the public eye, your whole life is out there and it’s not always going to be good.

“You always try to set the best example for your kids, but I think it’s important to have those real conversations with them when they’re ready and to be honest.

“And that’s why it’s so good to make a book, because they can read it, they can process it, and it’s something they’ll always have.”

Candice believes she was treated unfairly by the press during the ‘toilet rendezvous’ 16 years ago, and media coverage highlighted the double standards women face – but things are slowly starting to improve.

“Everything happened sixteen years ago and times have changed so much. Women are more comfortable speaking out about things they’ve been through without feeling judged or feeling wrong,” she said.

“So the fact that I now feel comfortable talking about everything and saying everything in my own words shows how far we’ve come since then.”

When asked if she thinks women get more attention in the media than men, she said, “They are, and that’s another reason I wanted to write the book, because I want other people — other women — to know that .

“When they go through hard times, (they know) they too can make it through anything if they put their minds to it.”

While the former Ironwoman knows firsthand how difficult it can be as a woman in the public eye, she’s not worried about her daughters growing up in the spotlight, as she and husband David have the knowledge to protect them.

“I think David and I have so much experience, we can always steer them in the right direction and try to help them and show them the way,” she said.

“But who knows which path they will take? Be it an academic path, the arts, if they want to be successful in sports. But whatever it is, we will always support them.’