While Moana Hope enjoyed \u201csmouldering\u201d in front of the camera during her Stellar photo shoot, she says her everyday attire is nowhere near as fashionable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the female Adam Sandler,\u201d deadpans the retired AFLW player. <\/p>\n
\u201cI went to a cafe yesterday in my ripped Calvin Klein pants that I\u2019ve had since 2015. I\u2019ve got these slippers that have cats on them. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was wearing a T-shirt, no bra, and a beanie. I took a video and was going to post [to Instagram]: \u2018This is why I\u2019ll never meet a girl in public.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
At the same time, she does appreciate \u201ca good fit\u201d, Hope says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI completely lost myself in my marriage,\u201d she reveals, \u201cand since my separation [from Swedish model Isabella Carlstrom in 2023, after four years of marriage], every year that\u2019s gone past, re-finding myself and discovering myself has been one of the most magical moments of my life. All of my outfits are just me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being single has been an eye-opening experience for the former Collingwood and North Melbourne forward. After her split from media personality Maria Thattil last year (she and the former Miss Universe Australia dated for about 18 months), the 38-year-old has spent the past year healing and doing some self-reflecting. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I came out of that relationship, what I wanted to do was really work on myself, and go internally in terms of, \u2018How could I have been a better partner and shown up in a better way?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cAs much as that relationship didn\u2019t work \u2013 and that\u2019s fine \u2013 I want to be the best version of myself if I give myself to somebody in the future. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo I took a year off, and I only opened myself up to dating a month or two ago. It\u2019s been a rollercoaster. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never \u2018dated\u2019 in my life, ever. I\u2019ve normally just met someone. [Dating] is weird; I just can\u2019t do small talk. It\u2019s not for me. I\u2019m waiting for the call to be the female Bachelorette for lesbians. Haven\u2019t had it yet \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to the perfect date, Hope has a laid-back approach, preferring to sit on the couch eating popcorn and Maltesers in her ripped Calvin Klein trackpants than go out to dinner. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know that sounds crazy,\u201d she adds, \u201cbut I\u2019m a bit weird like that.\u201d <\/p>\n
Listen to a new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, below: <\/p>\n
That may be because dating as a public figure has presented some unique challenges. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had an instance where I\u2019ve met with someone and given them [the] unfiltered me. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut they have this preconceived idea of who I [am] based on social media or my profile,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018No, I just want to have an equal opportunity to you. I don\u2019t know you, just give me a blank canvas to be myself without being judged. So I think it\u2019s really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dating also isn\u2019t easy when you\u2019re a single mum of two. The sports star and her ex co-parent their five-and-a-half-year-old daughter Svea, who was carried by Carlstrom, and four-year-old son Ahi, who was also conceived via IVF with the same donor and carried by Hope. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m completely and utterly in love with them,\u201d she says, adding that co-parenting is \u201creally difficult\u201d and doesn\u2019t get talked about enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the hardest mental challenges I\u2019ve had in my life,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I keep pulling myself back to is: my kids didn\u2019t choose this. We chose to bring the kids into the world, then the separation happened, so all I can do is control my actions and do everything I can to make sure none of this impacts their future or their life or causes any trauma. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m on two ends of it: one end of co-parenting where I\u2019ve got my son 100 per cent [of the time], and the other end of co-parenting where I\u2019m asking for more time with my daughter. I have this unique situation where I see the good and the bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hope is excited that she will soon take the children on their first international trip, to Fiji. She hasn\u2019t been back to the island nation since placing third on the Network 10 reality competition Australian Survivor: All Stars in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cSurvivor changed my life,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWhen I was on the island, I remember thinking to myself, why do we wake up and tell ourselves we need to eat avocado on toast \u2013 which is delicious but you don\u2019t need it. Why do I wake up and check my phone first? Why am I doing these things that I\u2019m so conditioned to do? <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of the most incredible experiences. I\u2019d probably do it again one day, but I want my kids to be old enough where I\u2019d feel comfortable to be away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Hope revealed she\u2019d received a homophobic message from an unnamed retired AFLW player. That then prompted hundreds of people to leave supportive comments on social media. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf this happened to me 10 years ago, there would be 200 comments telling me to get over it,\u201d she tells Stellar. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut every comment, from straight people, [was]: \u2018This is unacceptable, call her out, we don\u2019t want this in our community.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cI was never going to talk about it, but these are people who wanted to defend it, because everyone has a right to love who they love.\u201d <\/p>\n
In fact, Hope\u2019s first reaction was compassion. \u201cI get more concerned about what\u2019s happened in their life that made them like that. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum is an incredible example of that, how far she\u2019s come as a 70-something woman to unlearn everything she was taught.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to a new episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, below: <\/p>\n
Hope\u2019s mother, who initially didn\u2019t approve of her being gay, is now one of her biggest supporters. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople of that generation have been taught this for 50, 60 years. Asking them to unlearn something overnight isn\u2019t possible, and so patience and a kind way of delivering a new way of thinking or education around it is one of the most important things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of Hope\u2019s time now is spent on her new business in consulting and design for traffic management, where she\u2019s focused on teaching stay-at-home mums how to start their own business. The former athlete has also returned to playing local footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI play for a women\u2019s team, and outside of my kids and family, these girls are my family; they\u2019re incredible,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them have kids, [who] they bring and it\u2019s 20 kids going nuts while all these women are training. This is us making it work. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids have so much fun together,\u201d she continues. \u201cIt fills my cup, while I\u2019m filling my cup playing footy. I\u2019m having the best time.\u201d<\/p>\n