Candice Warner opens up on Roxy Jacenko SAS feud

One of the biggest headlines to come out of season one of SAS Australia was the public falling out of Candice Warner and Roxy Jacenko. Warner talks through how the show changed her.

Candice Warner’s appearance on the first season of SAS Australia last year changed the course of her career. And while the former ironwoman showed her strength in the physical challenges, it was her vulnerability and retelling of past hardships that won over a legion of new fans.

“The biggest thing I gained from that was knowing that it’s OK to let your guard down and let people in; I’ve learnt that you can still let people in without feeling afraid of being hurt or being judged,” Warner tells Stellar On Friday.

“I just did as instructed.” (Picture: Steven Chee)

“I loved the whole thing, being pushed physically and mentally. As a mother, as a wife and as a former athlete, [the experience is] just what I needed at that time.”

However, the show did come with negative attention, much of it centred on her fractured relationship with her former friend and manager, Sydney publicist Roxy Jacenko, who was a fellow recruit on SAS.

The pair had a falling out after they were challenged to fight each other in a boxing match on the 2020 series, and even 12 months on from when the fight was filmed, Warner still doesn’t want to discuss the intricacies of what went down.

“I can’t even comment on [the feud] because I got so much more out of the show than just that boxing scene,” she says.

“I just did what I was instructed to do and so did everyone else. And we were all friends in that show, [not] just the person I was boxing with.”

Find more exclusives in this Sunday’s Stellar.

Warner’s appearance on the series led to a commentating position with Seven Network during the Tokyo Olympics.

The 34-year-old, who covered the triathlon events, says that getting back into the booth is something she’d love to do.

“If the opportunity came again, I’d definitely love it. I love sport. I’m a sports tragic.”

And it seems that her three daughters, Ivy, 7; Indi, 5, and Isla, 2, take after both their mum and their dad, Australian cricketer David Warner.

“The girls love sports. It would be hard not to when they’re surrounded by so much of it,” Warner points out.

“They’re into everything; they play cricket, they swim, they play tennis. We want to give them every opportunity to try as many sports as they want – without being pushy.”