Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice has spoken about her decision to walk away from her career, leave her family behind and start a new life after reaching what she described as her lowest point.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist retired from swimming before revealing in 2024 she had found Christianity, documenting her baptism on Instagram.
She later moved to Dubai and married pastor Mark Lassey.
On Sunday night, the athlete announced another major change, revealing her new name, Stephanie Lassey, and launching a new Instagram dedicated to sharing her faith journey.
Among the most significant turning points Lassey detailed was turning down the opportunity to become CEO of a company, a position she had long dreamed of, after she said “God asked me to resign”.
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“Feels like the perfect time to start a fresh account, in my new name, and with a new commitment to sharing the journey God is taking me on,” she wrote.
“I pray that my story would give you hope that God has the power to turn lives around, to restore what’s been broken and bless you above what you’ve asked, thought or even imagined.”
In a 13-slide post documenting her journey, Lassey traced her life from childhood swimming lessons to Olympic success, reflecting on how she came to measure her self-worth by her achievements.
“I started tying my value to my success,” she revealed.
But behind the sporting accolades, Lassey said she was struggling to cope with a series of personal and professional setbacks.
One slide featured a photograph of the swimmer in tears, accompanied by the caption “But the highs didn’t last”.
“The public scrutiny, hate comments, legal battles and failed businesses kept breaking my faith that the future would get better,” she wrote.
Lassey said it was during this period, when she was at her lowest, she found Jesus and bought a one-way ticket to Dubai in a bid to start over.
After becoming a pastor’s wife, she went on to secure her first corporate role, starting at director level and earning more money than she had in years.
But just eight months into the position, she faced another life-changing decision.
“I was offered to become CEO, my dream position ... but God asked me to resign, I obeyed,” she wrote.
Now 38, Lassey said she was once again starting over and was “back at zero”.
“It’s been one of the most testing seasons of my life, but I trust God and I’ve learned I can’t force or speed up His plans or when he opens the next door,” she said.
“But I can control what I do in the meantime.”
Lassey acknowledged she was “crazy” for walking away from the 140,000 followers she had on her old Instagram, but said her new account was for the “woman like me”.
“Honestly I’d rather start again knowing the people joining now want to be apart of the story God’s writing, not the one that’s already been written, even if that’s just a small amount,” she wrote.
“I love you all, thank you for your support. May God bless you abundantly.”