50 The Australian Women’s Weekly|MAY 2019
GETTYIMAGES.NEWSPIX.OPPOSITEPAGE:JOHANNAWEARSWITCHERY SHIRT AND LEE MATHEWS SKIRT FROM THE ICONIC.Interview
because,tobeperfectlyhonest,to them
I’mjust‘mum’.I rememberoneof them
cominghomefromschoolonedayand
askingif I wasa swimmer,oraswimmer
swimmer.I toldhimwhatI’ddoneand
hewent,‘Oh,that’sembarrassing
becauseI wassayingtopeoplethatI’d
neverseenyouswimbefore’.”
Today,Johannalaughs,theonly
swimmingshedoesis in thedamat
thefarmin theNSWHunterValley
thatsheandhusbandToddHuggins,
44,retreattoin theirtimeoff.It’sa far
cryfromthoseearlyyears,whichsaw
thesports-madteenagerrelentlessly
poweringthroughthepoolafter
takingupthesportcompetitively
at therelativelylateageof13.
A yearlater,shemadethenational
team. At 16, she won bronze at the
reflects.“It’sgivenmea reallygood
understandingofhumannature.
Certainly,at 17,it taughtmewhatto
valueandwhattoletgoofandofthe
importanceoffamilyandfriends.And
eventhoughI’m 46 now,thatperiod
is themostI’lleverlearnaboutlifeor
myself.I learnttolikemyself,which
I thinkis a bigthing.Whenyouhave
a lotoftimeonyourown,youlearn
tobehonestwithyourself.”
Returningtothepoolat 19forthe
AustralianSwimmingChampionships
in 1993,thecrowdwentwildwhen
Johannanotonlytouchedthewallfirst
in the50-metrebackstroke,butrecorded
thefastesttimein theworldthatyear.
It wasthenshewouldshockpeople
oncemore,announcingherretirement
from swimming the very next morning.rushedtopresentJohannawithoffers
toappearason-airtalent.“Itwasso
headyandexciting,”sheremembers.
“Andagain,I thinkhow lucky I was.”Divingrightin
Still,shewouldn’tletluckbetheonly
dynamicfuellinghernewchapter.Once
again,Johannaapplieddisciplineafter
signingonthedottedlinewithSeven.
“Ifanopportunitycomesup,you
needtoputyourfootin thedoor
andthenyouneedtomakeyourself
valuable,”sheexplains,addingthat
thisis nowadviceshegivesyoung
athleteshopingtomaketheshift
fromcompetitivesporttoTV.
“IdidallthecrappyshiftssoI could
practisegettingbetter.I’velostcount
ofthenumberofpeoplewhocomein
witha bitofanattitude,readytostart
at thetopandneverat thebottomand
theyjustdon’tsurvive.Theoneswho
arereadytodowhateverit takesand
willtreatpeoplewithrespect[will
makeit]– I thinkthat’swhyI’mstill
doingit alltheseyearson.”
Certainlyit wasn’twithouta few
stumblesalongtheway.“Failureis the
greatestlessonin theworld,”shesays
ofthoseearlydays,whichsawher
deridedbymultiplearmchaircritics
asshelearnttheartofTVpresenting.
“Thegreatestopportunitiesin mylife,
thegreatestlessonsI’velearntandthe
greatestpivotpointswhereyoutotally
changedirectionhavecomefrommy
failures.Andthat’snota badthing.”
Thatrationalecouldapplytoher
short-livedbuthigh-profilemarriage
toactorGarySweet.Thepairwedin
1995 andswiftlyhadtheirtwosons.
In1996,Johannawassackedviafax
fromherroleat Seven– twoweeks
beforeshewasduetoreturnfrom
maternityleavewithfirstsonJesse
andbythennewlypregnantwithJoe.
A yearafterthat,Garywasoutof
thepicture.
Johannais notoriouslyclose-lipped
aboutthebreakdownofherfirst
marriage,butshedoestellTheWeekly
thatwhilebecominga singleparentwas
tough,it alsobroughthera lotofjoy.
“Whena marriageends,you
feelyou’resucha failurein that
aspect, but at the same time it really1990 CommonwealthGames.But
at 17,Johannawasfelledbychronic
fatiguesyndrome,whichwassosevere
shewouldspendtwo-and-a-halflong
andlonelyyearsrecuperating.
“Ithinkthedisciplineofswimming
wasa blessingin disguisebecausewe
turnedthatdisciplineintotryingto
recover,”sherecalls.Inwasa wheat-
free,corn-free,beef-free,sugar-free,
dairy-free,yeast-free,caffeine-free,
spice-freediet.Andoutwerethelong
hoursin thepool,the(admittedly
fairlyintermittent)highschooling,
thetravelsaroundtheworld.Outtoo,
Johannasoonfound,weremanypeers
andsponsorswhograduallyfadedfrom
herlifeastheformerlygregarious
teenagerretreatedintosickness.
“Itdefinitelytaughtmethatpeople
arequiteconfrontedwhenthere’s
something they don’t understand,” she
“I’dwantedtoprovetomyselfthat
I coulddoit andgetbacktowhereI
was... butthesecondI hitthatwall,
I knewI wasdone,”Johannaexplains,
addingshecalledhermother,Leigh,
tobreakthenewsbeforemakingan
officialannouncement.
“Mum’swordswereallsuper
supportiveandfabulousandabout
prideandalltherestofit,”sherecalls
ofthatlate-nightconversation.“But
youcouldhearthatlittlebitoffear
in hervoiceof,‘Whatareyougoing
todonext?’I essentiallyhadno
education,I hadn’tfinishedschool.
I jokedtoMumthatI’dgointomedia,
buttobehonestthatwasn’tanykind
oflifedream.It wasjustsomethingto
sayin thatmomenttoappeaseher.”
Soyoucanimaginethepair’s
surprisewhen,thefollowingday,
the Seven, Nine and Ten networks all