Australian Olympic diving champion Matthew Mitcham has confessed to “sexual behaviour” outdoors his marriage as being a supply of disgrace, regardless of revealing the pair have “an understanding”.
Mitcham got here to the highlight on the 2008 Beijing Olympics the place he snatched gold from Chinese language rival Zhou Luxin with a rating of 112 within the males’s 10m platform occasion.
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Mitcham, who went public together with his sexuality within the lead as much as the Olympics, grew to become the primary brazenly homosexual male Olympic champion and went on to win a gold and 6 silvers at Commonwealth Video games occasions in 2010 and 2014.
His life quickly fell aside after he grew to become hooked on crystal meth throughout his profession.
He spoke about this a part of his life earlier within the season of SAS Australia, revealing he was seven and a half years clear and sober.
Mitcham has been sober since retiring from the game in 2016 and in 2020 married his British accomplice Luke Rutherford.
Within the newest episode of SAS Australia, the contestants confronted a problem the place they needed to write down and reveal their most shameful moments to the group, earlier than cathartically burning them in a hearth.
Mitcham admitted: “The one factor that I haven’t actually labored by way of but is that I’ve been a very egocentric particular person in relationships.
“I really feel so ashamed for the immense harm that I prompted somebody for 11 years who stayed with me all all through my whole habit.
“And regardless of being a number of years clear and sober and it being one in every of his absolute deal breakers, I nonetheless wrestle to be fully trustworthy with my husband.
“I let my very own insecurities, worry and belief points be extra essential than a promise I made to him. And in doing so, I’ve prompted a lot harm and critical harm to the connection.
“So, the factor that I’m most ashamed to confess as we speak is that I harm the people who find themselves most essential to me as a result of honesty will not be one in every of my core values and I’m a liar.”
In a to-camera interview, Mitcham stated “I haven’t been the most effective husband and I’ve undoubtedly prompted lots of ache and I nonetheless have lots of disgrace for lies and deception in my relationship.”
However Mitcham was taken to the interrogation tent, the place SAS chief teacher Ant Middleton continued to press him.
Mitcham revealed that the lies started as a toddler as a defence mechanism so as to not get in hassle.
Requested to disclose the most recent lie he’d instructed that was on his thoughts, Mitcham stated “Sexual behaviour inside my relationship, sexual behaviour outdoors the connection which is ridiculous as a result of my accomplice and I’ve an understanding and but I nonetheless have a lot disgrace about it that I can’t be trustworthy with it so there’s no cause to lie about it and that’s what eats me up due to my very own disgrace.”
Mitcham agreed that he could also be a compulsive liar.
“That may be a really shameful factor for me to confess,” he stated.
“I really feel ashamed of myself. There’s lots of disgrace. As a result of honesty is such a advantage, in actual fact it’s not only a advantage it’s an expectation.”
Middleton stated he knew first hand what Mitcham was going by way of, as his mom was a compulsive liar.
“I used to hate talking to my mom,” Middleton admitted. “I by no means hated my mom, by no means confirmed any disrespect in the direction of my mom however I hated talking to her as a result of I knew that each phrase was a f**king lie.
“I hated being round her, my very own mum — and I hated myself for that. However she believed her personal lies. It grew to become compulsive after which I didn’t need to be round her. The one time I might discover a little bit of peace along with her was when she was on her deathbed.”
Middleton completed saying: “Transferring ahead from this second ahead — a reliable, integral particular person.”
“That’s what I need to be,” Mitcham stated.
