Former Ironwoman Candice Warner has opened up on her relationship with Aussie cricket star David Warner, revealing the difficulties associated with being married to someone who spends so many days a year away from home.
Speaking on the latest episode of Cathrine Mahoney and Sarah McGilvray’s Not Another Parenting Podcast, Candice elaborated on juggling looking after the couple’s three young daughters with all her other commitments as David travels the world playing for Australia in all three formats.
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Candice said she and David had only spent the equivalent of three months together over the past 14 months and admitted lockdowns had taken their toll.
“Just being the single mum, it’s kind of not what I signed up for,” Candice said. “Building a house, home schooling, lockdowns — it has been a juggle and it’s been really tough, to be completely honest. I haven’t enjoyed it.
“Each day is something different and my kids are at the age where they start to test you, they miss dad, they understand what’s going on and it has been difficult.”
Candice also spoke about how it can be tough knowing who to turn to when she needs support, because even though she knows David is there for her, she doesn’t want to put any extra pressure on him when he needs a clear mind to perform at the highest level.
“I don’t like to burden him with things because he’s so far away, there’s not much he can do about it,” Candice said.
“He’s your husband and your best friend and he’s the person that you turn to, but knowing that he’s got a game for Australia, a World Cup final or The Ashes, and I don’t want him to be distracted and he’s purely focused on that ... you feel very alone and then, well, who can I turn to?
“That’s where, for me, it’s been difficult these past three months. Who do I turn to when my husband’s there and yes, he would love me to open up to him, but I don’t want him to have that burden and that pressure when he’s already going through so much.
“He needs to be focused, he needs to be clear-minded and go out there and open the batting for Australia in the best possible headspace. So that’s where it’s a challenge.”
Candice added there are times when she cries in the car because life can get overwhelming at times.
“It has been a challenge and you think as a mum, as a wife, as anyone, you’re invincible. But we all have our weaknesses and our moments,” she told the Not Another Parenting Podcast.
“There have been times where … I’ve been driving and I just break down into tears. Or my kids are in the back screaming. I’m just like, “When is this going to end?’”
Time away from her husband is hard, but it’s also a shock to the system when David — a veteran of 86 Test matches — comes home.
“You get so used to being on your own and doing things your way, and then your husband comes home and all of a sudden — you’ve got more washing, which isn’t great — and it’s the inconsistency,” Candice said.
“He wants to have fun with the kids and they want their daddy, but you still have a household to run.
“I had my own routine. I’d wake up, I’d get the kids to school, I’d go to the gym. All of a sudden he’s home, my routine’s all mixed up. It is really, really weird.”
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