WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO: Paige Spiranac, the 30-year-old former golfer and influencer, has gained immense popularity with her glamorous photos on the golf course, sporting tiny, tight-fit skirts and low-cut tops. She has garnered more than 11 million followers across her social media channels, with 3.8 million being only on Instagram, a number that outperforms the totals of every other golfer, including the legend Tiger Woods.
From posting about her struggles, responding to bullies, building rapport, and batting trolls to having her own podcast, she does it all. While not much is known about Spiranac's life, her mother recently opened up about her upbringing.
'Gymnastics was my full identity'
In a detailed conversation with Golf Digest, Paige Spiranac's mother Annette opened up about her daughter's upbringing. Annette always knew their youngest daughter, Paige, was acutely anxious. “She was always behind me, peering out from around my legs,” remembers Annette. “She never spoke,” she added. Instead, Paige Spiranac spent hours by herself on the playground, swinging and flipping on the monkey bars. Based on this, Dan (Paige's father) and Annette thought gymnastics might be good for her and enrolled their daughter in a class at age 6. Paige flourished and soon spent eight hours a day, six days a week, practicing. Her parents chose to homeschool her so that she could focus on gymnastics. Since Dan formerly played football full-time in college and Annette was a professional ballet dancer, they understood her dedication and moved from Denver to Colorado Springs to be closer to the training facility.
Further during the conversation, Paige opened up, saying, “Gymnastics was my full identity. Everyone knew me as ‘Paige the gymnast who was going to the Olympics." But Spiranac still had trouble fitting in socially, even at the gym. She admitted, "I wore glasses, rubber rain boots everywhere. I had this condition where my hair would fall out. I had bad asthma. When you’re bald and need an inhaler, it’s not easy. Kids would stand 10 feet away from me." She stated that other children also threw rocks at her. Her classmates started making fun of her a lot. Paige recalled her teammates covertly spitting into her beverage. Other girls once even threw her birthday cake in the trash in front of her.
Paige Spiranac discusses social anxiety
Spiranac's mother also shared how her daughter had always struggled with social anxiety, even as she grew up, and being made fun of didn't help the situation. Spiranac had a negative reaction to the antidepressants that a doctor recommended. She was too anxious to leave her flat to go grocery shopping or eat out as she entered her senior year. She also developed an eating disorder. She explained, "I didn't want to talk to anyone." She chose to live in solitude and eat graham crackers that she had hidden in her room.
Spiranac's golf instructor told her during practice that she was being overly critical of herself and suggested exercises to help her relax. Annette said that any error "affected Paige so deeply" that it warped her self-perception. Now, years later, it appears that Paige can confidently talk about her experiences and give hope to others.
