SAS Australia kicked off with a bang tonight, with 17 celebrity recruits entering the course to see just how far they can push themselves. We’ve witnessed people be set on fire, Pauly Fenech strip down to … nothing and Locky Gilbert get roasted for saying he loves two women on his season of The Bachelor.
But most notably, it was former Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill who was the focus of the first episode, opening up about his tumultuous life to the directing staff during an interrogation.
“In 2014 I was arrested with my ex-wife at the races for cocaine possession. We got pulled aside by the police, I was searched and basically, in the blink of an eye my life got turned upside down,” said Huegill.
Unable to shake off the shame and guilt from what transpired, Huegill made the decision to leave his family, something that still hurts him to this day.
“My biggest regret is not being in my kids’ lives on a daily basis, that’s been a big eye-opener. Life gets taken away from you at the blink of an eye,” he said through tears. “The only thing I ever lived for after swimming was to just be a dad. It hurts me to be in a position where I don’t get to live with my girls on a day to day basis. The last time I got to hold them was 18 months ago. I lost my family, everything just changed in the blink of an eye.”
Huegill also spoke candidly about his weight gain, revealing that he put on 50 kilos after retirement. While he’s lost 45 kilos since then, he admitted to being an emotional eater.
“That one night out f***ed a lot of things up for you,” said Ant Middleton. “You still have a whole ‘nother life to live. Don’t ever estimate life on earth.”
The emotional interrogation ended in high spirits, with Huegill acknowledging his strength.
“I’m very proud that I’ve been able to pull myself out of some very dark times.”
Watch SAS Australia at 7.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
