Ugly truth about Candice Warner's 'toilet tryst' with Sonny Bill Williams

Candice Warner has exposed the ugly reality of her ‘toilet tryst’ scandal with Sonny Bill Williams, which she continues to be plagued by after 13 years.

The infamous incident was thrust back into the spotlight this week when Candice - wife of Australian cricket star David - was grilled about it on reality TV show SAS Australia.

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“In my early 20s I made a very big mistake,” Candice said.

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

“I put myself in a situation where I shouldn’t have and because of that I brought embarrassment (and) shame to my family.”

Speaking on Nova radio on Tuesday, Candice was asked why she is still being forced to answer questions about the 2007 incident today.

“It's a classic case of society, isn’t it, Candice?” said Ryan Fitzgerald.

“Where the focus was always on you and not the other person that you had that tryst with that everyone was speaking about.

“I know that you get your back up but that’s your mechanism isn't it? That's how you’ve coped with that your whole life?”

Candice replied: “It is, because no one ever really approached me or spoke to me about it.

“I’ve just always been sledged, always had people yelling out or people at the cricket wearing face masks.”

Candice was referring to an incident in 2018 when cricket fans wore masks of Williams’ face during Australia’s ill-fated tour of South Africa.

That tour is most remembered for Australia’s ball-tampering scandal, which saw David Warner banned for 12 months and Candice suffer a miscarriage due to the stress.

“So, of course I’m going be that kind of person, because no one ever spoke to me properly about it - it's kind of one of those things that it was ‘do we, don’t we?’”

Speaking on SAS Australia, Candice said: “There were incidents in South Africa where people were trying to make fun of me, mock me, belittle me in front of my family because of an incident that happened in the past. And that they think that's funny.”

Candice and Sonny Bill’s infamous incident

Candice Warner (then Candice Falzon before she was married) and Williams met at the Clovelly hotel in 2007 and were filmed by a member of the public in a toilet cubicle.

Candice, 22, was an elite ironwoman at the time and a 21-year-old Williams (who was in a relationship) was at the start of his NRL career with the Bulldogs.

Gavin Orr, Williams’ manager at the time, previously said his player was heavily intoxicated.

“He had been there since 2pm and I know he was really blind,’’ Orr said.

“I don’t know anything about Candice Falzon - all I was told was that Sonny Bill was taken home in a taxi by Willie Mason’s girlfriend just before midnight.’’

While Williams later issued a brief apology after the incident, he’s never faced the same sort of scrutiny that Candice, who was single at the time, has.

“I’ve made a mistake and I’m very, very sorry about it,” she said in 2007.

“I’m conscious of my image as a sportswoman and I’ve got a responsibility to young people. Young girls look up to me.”

In an interview with Australian Story in 2008 she said: “I wasn’t in a state where I didn’t know what happened, but you don’t think of how your actions, when you’re drunk, can have an affect on your life.

“You really don’t. You are in your own little zone. Although you are conscious of what you’re doing, you’re not really.”

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