explainer

"I could be still young enough.” Schapelle Corby on her hope to become a mother one day.

Schapelle Corby's conviction has, of course, had crippling consequences for her personal life. On Sunday, the 43-year-old opened up about one of the greatest costs of all, stemming from her near-decade behind bars.

In 2005, the then-28-year-old Queensland woman was convicted of smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali. She was sentenced to 20 years in jail, although served just nine of those years in the notorious Kerobokan Prison. She was granted parole in 2014 and by 2017, Corby was allowed to return home to Australia. 

Now, she has spoken of the personal price to her "womanhood". 

"There are no children," the Corby told Stellar Magazine on Sunday. 

Corby is in a long-term and long-distance relationship with Ben Panangian, who she first met in 2006 at a church service in prison. Panagian was also serving time for drug-related offences, and it's understood his criminal conviction makes it hard for him to enter Australia.

The couple last saw each other in February of last year, with the pandemic now providing even more barriers to them reuniting.  

But Corby says she still holds a glimmer of hope that she may one day bring kids into the world. 

"I do have motherly instincts, but they are aimed towards my dog Princess. My boyfriend lives in another country, so I am not sexy or anything," Corby shares. 

"I don’t put too much emphasis on thinking about what I’ve lost.

"If it’s possible for me to have a child, OK, but I’m not going to dwell too much because there’s nothing I can change about that. But I could be still young enough."

It's not the first time Corby has mentioned her hope to one day become a mother. 

In October of last year, she told The Daily Telegraph that the couple would love to have kids one day, and "twins if possible".

“I would love to have a family together,” she said. “Marriage I’m not sure — look I’m not pressuring him.”

Schapelle Corby's life now. 

As one of Australia's most infamous drug-smugglers - who has always maintained her innocence - Corby says she is "resigned" to her infamous public image. But, it would seem, she is also determined to show Australia another side of her. 

Corby is in the new Channel Seven reality show, alongside the likes of Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins, Candice Warner and Roxy Jacenko.

Called SAS Australia, the show is based on a UK format where contestants undertake physical and psychological tests similar to the Special Air Service experience.

Watch the trailer for SAS Australia here, featuring Schapelle Corby. Post continues below. 

Speaking to 7News in August, Corby said: "We go into the SAS as a number, not a name, which is significant for me because I won’t be Schapelle Corby, I will just be a human being.

"I wanna stop being institutionalised. I want to open my freedom to a happier life, a more fulfilling life."

She continued: "I don’t want to prove myself to anybody," she explained. "This is for me. I don’t care what people think of me. I hope people enjoy it, but this is for me.

"I think I’ll discover that I’m stronger than I am, that I think I am."

Outside of the new show, Corby lives a quiet life on Queensland's Gold Coast. 

According to her Instagram, where she has 164,000 followers, she spends her days by the beach, with her dog and surrounded by close friends and family. 

She's previously opened up about her inability to find a job in her local community. 

"I can't go and work in a shop - it just causes havoc," she previously told The Daily Telegraph. "There's no way."

And so, reality television it is...

You can read Schapelle Corby's full interview with Stellar Magazine here

Feature Image: @schapelle.corby Instagram.


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