‘We will work it out’ Barry Hall’s last ditch effort to win back his estranged wife Sophie
WHATEVER happens between Barry Hall and his estranged wife, the AFL great says he won’t be sharing it with the world.
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WHATEVER happens between Barry Hall and his estranged wife, the AFL great says he won’t be sharing it with the world.
Separating from his wife of three-and-a-half-years Sophie Raadschelder motivated Hall to enter the South African jungle and participate in the first season of Australia’s I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
WHO WON I’M A CELEBRITY ... GET ME OUT OF HERE?
“It has given me the chance to think about it quite a bit,” the 38-year-old said.
“Whatever happens from here on in is between me and her and I think it has got to be up to us both being happy, not just all about me. We will work it out.”
Hall nearly quit the show two weeks in but ended up coming second, behind Freddie Flintoff.
During the season, he told his campmates he was “a lot clearer in my mind now of what I need to do”.
He was surprised his mentions of the separation made it to air on the show.
“It sounds strange but in camp when you’re talking to someone, you forget that the cameras are on,” he explained. “In respect to my wife, I didn’t want that to get out.”
Hall desperately wants to be a father, saying he’d like to have three boys and a girl.
“I’ve always thought I’d have kids by now but it hasn’t worked out,” he said. “That’s something on the radar in the future down the track if I meet someone that I’ll be certainly wanting to do to keep the Hall family tree growing.”
Series winner Flintoff opened up about his battle with depression during the show, which made Hall realise he too suffered from the illness but to a lesser degree.
Hall’s depression came when he retired from AFL in 2007.
“When I finished football, for two or three months I slept in, I was in a real rut where I couldn’t get out of bed and I thought I had nothing to get out of bed for,” explained, who never took medication for depression. “I had no goals, nothing to work towards. I just felt really really down and it was like, this is over, I’m finished, I’m done, I’m washed up.”
Hall was able to “snap out of it” himself but believes sports people need to be more open about mental illness.
“I finished the game how I wanted to so I can imagine players who are injured or get cut and it is not their own choice, it is a real issue,” he said. “I can relate to Freddie and it is good to have someone like him be so courageous because it makes you open up. He opened the door for me to speak about my little form of depression.”
Hall, 38, lost 13kgs in the six weeks, now weighing 100kgs, and says he wants to put it back on.
“I don’t want to put on any fat that I don’t need,” he said. “I want to stay lean but I’ll naturally put it back on because I love training.”
Viewers really saw a different side to Hall, who previously had a reputation for being a physically and mentally hard footballer.
The experience also showed Hall he can explore new work opportunities and he’s interested at looking at television presenting, documentary making and commentating.
“I self doubt a lot even about my image and the way I look,” he said. “I’m just a normal average person. In the past I’ve second guessed myself so I’m going to have a go and explore what I’ve got and see where it leads me. I don’t want to get 10 years down the track and have any regrets.”
American actor Maureen McCormick has suggested Hall could make a good action man in Hollywood and has offered to introduce him to producers in Los Angeles.
“I can’t act so I probably need some lessons,” he smiled. “Maureen said she could put me in touch with some producers so I’ll talk to her and explore the options.”
Barry’s Life Lessons From The South African Jungle
*Just the value of simple things. I can be very happy with very little.
*I guess biting my tongue and not cause conflict over something little and something that is not going to affect me in the next 10 minutes, just let it go. Usually I just bounce into it.
* I am going to challenge myself a bit more physically and mentally, I’ve missed that since I’ve stopped playing football.
* I’ve mingled with people that I wouldn’t normally mingle with.
* I’ve never missed anyone before, which is quite sad I guess.
* I’m going to have a go at things that I wouldn’t generally do, that’s in terms of work.
— The journalist is in South Africa as a guest of Channel Ten.
Originally published as ‘We will work it out’ Barry Hall’s last ditch effort to win back his estranged wife Sophie
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