Natalie Abberfield reveals how fitness helped her take back her life

Barnaby Joyce’s ex-wife Natalie Abberfield has revealed how her 2019 bodybuilding transformation was about doing something she loved, not about a “revenge body”.

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For years, her life was about her ex-husband’s political career and raising the couple’s children.

But, Natalie Abberfield, who was once married to Barnaby Joyce, has revealed on SBS’s Insight’sRevenge episode how she reclaimed part of herself she put to the side for many years.

She told news.com.au that at 47 she woke up one morning and felt as though she lost something that had been incredibly important to her.

“I’d been into sports and fitness but having a family, raising children, being a wife to a husband who was often travelling for work, meant that part of my life was neglected,” Ms Abberfield told news.com.au.

“Now my kids were grown up and I had much more time to myself, I wanted to take control again and get that part of my life back.

“Exercise has always a great way for me to clear my head and it was something healthy I could do just for myself during a challenging time.”

Ms Abberfield said she’d been going to the gym since she was 18 but hadn’t been able to go as an adult due to living in smaller regional areas.

Natalie Abberfield reveals how she found herself through fitness. Picture: SBS

Returning to the gym felt like going home, enjoying the community and the opportunity to meet like-minded people.

“Exercise has always been a way for me to get my thoughts in order and release stress. “There’s nothing like those happy hormones that get released from regular exercise,” she said.

In 2019, Ms Abberfield made headlines when pictures emerged of her at a bodybuilding competition, and the term “revenge body” was attached to her new passion.

But, she revealed it had always been an interest of hers. When she was a young adult she was told she had the wrong body type for it, but a woman she met when she returned to working out showed her the ropes.

“I enjoyed the whole process. I’d never felt so healthy. I had a very clean eating diet, and the gym is where I do all my thinking. It allowed me to be extremely healthy physically and mentally,” Ms Abberfield said.

She said entering competitions gave her a goal to work towards.

“It’s like training for a sport like netball. I played competitive netball since I was five, and it was a big part of my life growing up,” she said. “I also did a lot of swimming and did a couple of triathlons.

“I’ve always loved the training aspect in the lead up to a game or a competition. A bodybuilding competition is the equivalent of playing a game against another team or completing against another athlete after training so hard.

“It gives you an end goal, with the reward of competing against others who’ve been training just as hard.”

Natalie Abberfield debuted in bodybuilding competitions in 2019. Picture: Ignacio Tse

To prepare for competitions, she makes sure to follow the eating plan set out for her by her trainer, with the pair having monthly check-ins and Ms Abberfield training every day on her own following the plan set out for her.

“I didn’t see it as a revenge body. I’d always wanted to get into body building, and I’ve always been interested in health and fitness,” she said on the term attached to her transformation.

“I finally reached a point in my life when I had time to devote to training to be a bodybuilder, and it was something I did just for me. The first thing I’d done just for myself in a long time.

“In a way, bodybuilding is a selfish sport, and that’s why I hadn’t had the opportunity to do it before then.”

Ms Abberfield said her fitness journey had also brought her closer with her daughters, who were incredibly proud of their mum when they saw her compete.

“In turn that made me very happy, and it was an experience we could share together,” she said. “I now go to the gym with two of my daughters when they’re at home, and I do reformer pilates with another one of my daughters who prefers that to going to the gym.

“So, all in all, it’s been something we can share and support each other in.”

Natalie Abberfield appears on this week’s episode of Insight, available to stream now on SBS On Demand. Insight airs on SBS on Tuesdays at 8.30pm.