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‘Didn’t have a voice’: Natalie Barr’s brutal question to Candice Warner after SBW scandal

Candice Warner has delivered some brutal home truths after she was once again questioned about the infamous Sonny Bill Williams scandal.

Candice Warner backs husband's Ashes selection

Candice Warner believes society has changed but still a way to go as she continues to relive her infamous 2007 incident with Sonny Bill Williams at the Clovelly Hotel in Sydney.

On Sunrise this morning Warner, who is on the publicity circuit for her new memoir Running Strong, was once again questioned about the night — with a particularly pointed question coming from host Natalie Barr.

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The pair were found in a men’s bathroom cubicle at the venue in Sydney’s east where the then-21-year-old Bulldogs star and 22-year-old Ironwoman were caught in the compromising situation.

Speaking on The Project over the weekend, Warner said the pair had simply looked for a private place to share a kiss — but the that photographer had stuck their phone under the cubicle to take the image.

Warner said she wished she “picked that phone up and deleted it”, but the story blew into a scandal.

Despite being single at the time, Warner revealed the media spotlight led her to driving to an infamous clifftop location at the depths of her despair.

“I just thought ‘this is it’, I just couldn’t take it anymore,” she said.

“I couldn’t take the headlines. I couldn’t take disappointing my parents. I couldn’t take it all. It was all too much.”

Candice Warner on Seven's Sunrise with host Natalie Barr.Photo: 7Plus.
Candice Warner on Seven's Sunrise with host Natalie Barr.Photo: 7Plus.

But speaking on Channel 7’s Sunrise on Wednesday morning, host Nat Barr asked Warner, then Falzon, “did you think about coming out straight away and talking more about it?”

“This was 16 years ago,” Warner said.

“16 years ago, we lived in a society where we didn’t have the voice, women didn’t have the voice that we do now. I didn’t have the opportunity

“Back then, I was forced to apologise for — I was single — for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nowadays that just wouldn’t happen.

“I didn’t have a voice back then, now I do and our society has changed. It still has a long way to go, but I feel like as a woman, I now have the confidence to be able to tell my side of the story and be heard.”

Warner, who has become a media personality working on Triple M radio and Fox Sports, said the reason for talking about her previous scandals was for her children.

Candice and David married in 2015 and have three daughters.

“In part it was for my three daughters, who in time will be able to read the book and I wanted them to get a better understanding of my story without any interferences or judgment from outside,” Warner said of the reasons behind writing the book.

The Warners back in 2015.
The Warners back in 2015.

It was the same reason she gave when confronting hecklers at the cricket during the summer.

Warner has spoken about the incident previously, speaking out on SAS Australia in 2020 and telling her fellow contestants it was something she regrets.

“A long time ago, when I was young, I got myself in a compromising position, which I regret,” she said at the time.

“It had a huge impact on my family. Huge.

“It was just a personal situation. Too many drinks.

“Living with that and having to explain to my kids in the future is going to be very difficult. Especially when you’ve got three girls.

“I remember sitting on the side of the street and not being able to take it anymore.

“Yes, I’d made a mistake. But is that really worth, every single day, the media trying to drag me down? I don’t think so.

“It is not something I am proud of but something I can never take back.”

Originally published as ‘Didn’t have a voice’: Natalie Barr’s brutal question to Candice Warner after SBW scandal

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/didnt-have-a-voice-natalie-barrs-brutal-question-to-candice-warner-after-sbw-scandal/news-story/26440ab429a55418e17736b6803d3418