- Swimming champion crushed by trolls
- Rice recently moved to Dubai
- Rice sheds tears in emotional clip
Aussie Olympic swimming champion Stephanie Rice has been slammed online after posting a video on social media about her plans for a fresh start in Dubai.
A tearful Rice posted an emotional clip of herself in first grade last week during the cross-country trip.
“I packed up my whole life (sic) in Australia, bought a one way ticket to Dubai to start a new chapter and I'm feeling all the emotions surrounding this new start… but God is good,” Rice captioned the video.
She also wrote: 'The past few months have been a roller coaster of emotions, bringing about so many wonderful changes, which I would like to share with you as I embark on this new journey in Dubai.
'I'm sure you all have many questions about this step and trust I will share them with you in due course. At the moment I don't have any firm plans in Dubai, which is a bit scary. I just knew that I had to follow this calling from deep within.
Stephanie Rice has been attacked by social media trolls after posting about her move to Dubai
Rice posted an emotional video of herself on Instagram last week as she left Australia
'Moving abroad is something I've felt called to do for so long, it just never was the right time…but now it's happening! I want to share this journey with you in the hope that it inspires you to honor your own inner callings and have faith in the path ahead, even if you don't know what it will look like yet…because I certainly don't know!!
“I guess that's life, but still…just taking it one step at a time and trusting that you'll always know what to do next when you get there.”
The 35-year-old's post sparked a response from fans who cursed the swimming champion.
“Was this your third or fourth take of the video,” someone commented.
“It must be so hard to get great opportunities and fly first class,” said another.
“Nothing says 'I'm not bragging' like filming yourself in first class on an international flight,” said a third.
The Olympic gold medalist appeared on Channel 7's SAS Australia earlier this year, where she spoke about her struggles since retiring from swimming.
“I felt really lost after I finished swimming,” she said.
The former Olympic champion has been very open about her mental health struggles
Rice had to leave SAS Australia this year due to a serious injury
'I didn't feel like I had a purpose or direction and that no one understood.
“I felt like I hadn't trained for anything since I finished competing. It felt like I didn't really have a goal to work towards, one specific thing.”