GOLFER Paige Spiranac is the newest member of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit family, saying she is in “disbelief” over the shoot which has helped restore her confidence in the face of online trolls who at one point led her to contemplate taking her own life.
Despite being ranked outside the top 1000, Spiranac has never been left wanting for attention — but that’s rarely been a good thing. She boasts over 1.3 million Instagram followers and says she has been “slut-shamed” for what she wears on the golf course as keyboard warriors have accused her of having a profile in the sport because of her looks rather than her talent.
But while the vile comments of faceless haters have sent her to dark places, Spiranac says being chosen as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model has empowered her to embrace her body and who she is.
Spiranac became emotional when talking about the hurtful abuse she has copped her entire life, but which has become particularly bad over the past two years. She burst into tears when recalling her first European Tour event at the Dubai Ladies Masters in 2015, saying the hate that flowed her way when she received a sponsor’s exemption for the tournament was almost too much to handle.
“I’ve been bullied my entire life. I get slut shamed, I get harassed, I get death threats for wearing the stuff that I do,” Spiranac said. “No on ever looks at the person I am or the good work that I do.
“It’s been bad my entire life but the last two years have been the worst.
“The night before the tournament (in Dubai) I was sitting in my bathroom just bawling, and I didn’t want to go through this pain, this feeling of helplessness, of being alone and scared and I said I never want another girl or boy or anyone to feel what I went through in that moment and how scared I was and how helpless I felt.
“I was bullied so bad to the point where I didn’t want to live anymore.
“People say these things and think they’re funny or it has no affect on that person and think words don’t mean anything but words cut deep, they really do.”
