Olympic champion Stephanie Rice has revealed why she walked away from a dream corporate role, left Australia for Dubai and embraced a new life shaped by her Christian faith. Now married to pastor Mark Lassey and known as Stephanie Lassey, the former swimmer says she is starting over once again after making a deeply personal decision to follow what she believes is God’s plan for her life.

The three-time Olympic gold medallist, who retired from competitive swimming before publicly sharing her Christian journey in 2024, has opened up about the personal struggles that led her to reassess her priorities and begin again.

On Sunday night, Lassey announced another significant change, unveiling her new name and launching a separate Instagram account dedicated to documenting her faith journey.

The move marks another turning point for the 38-year-old, who has left behind a career in elite sport, relocated overseas and stepped away from a corporate position she had once regarded as her dream job.

From Olympic Success to Personal Struggles

In a 13-slide Instagram post, Lassey reflected on her life, beginning with her childhood swimming lessons and tracing the path that took her to Olympic success.

Looking back, she acknowledged that her achievements had become closely tied to her sense of self-worth.

“I started tying my value to my success,” she revealed.

While her sporting career brought considerable accomplishments, Lassey said the years that followed also brought a series of personal and professional challenges that tested her confidence in the future.

One slide featured a photograph of her crying, accompanied by the words, “But the highs didn’t last”.

She described the impact of public scrutiny, hostile online comments, legal disputes and unsuccessful business ventures, explaining how those experiences gradually wore down her optimism.

“The public scrutiny, hate comments, legal battles and failed businesses kept breaking my faith that the future would get better,” she wrote.

The setbacks eventually brought her to what she described as the lowest point in her life, prompting her to reconsider the direction she wanted to take.

Finding Faith and Starting Again in Dubai

Lassey said she found Jesus during this difficult period, a turning point that ultimately led her to leave Australia and begin a new chapter abroad.

She bought a one-way ticket to Dubai, leaving behind her previous life in an effort to start fresh.

Her journey into Christianity later became public in 2024, when she shared footage of her baptism on Instagram.

She subsequently married pastor Mark Lassey, embracing a new chapter that brought changes to both her personal life and professional ambitions.

After becoming a pastor’s wife, she secured her first corporate position, joining at director level. The role also brought a financial improvement, with Lassey earning more than she had in years.

For someone who had spent much of her life pursuing success through measurable achievements, the opportunity appeared to represent another important milestone.

However, the position would lead to a decision that challenged her ambitions in an entirely different way.

Walking Away From Her Dream Job

Just eight months into the corporate role, Lassey said she was offered the opportunity to become CEO of the company, a position she had long hoped to attain.

Despite the significance of the offer, she decided to walk away after what she described as a message from God telling her to resign.

“I was offered to become CEO, my dream position … but God asked me to resign, I obeyed,” she wrote.

The decision meant giving up a role that represented a major professional achievement, even as she continued to build a new life following her move to Dubai.

Lassey’s account presents the moment as a test of her faith, requiring her to set aside a long-held ambition and trust in a direction she believes God has chosen for her.

Now 38, she says she is once again starting from scratch.

“It’s been one of the most testing seasons of my life, but I trust God and I’ve learned I can’t force or speed up His plans or when he opens the next door,” she said.

“But I can control what I do in the meantime.”

Her comments reflect a shift in how she approaches uncertainty. Rather than trying to control the timing of what comes next, she says she is learning to remain patient while focusing on the choices available to her in the present.

A New Name and a Fresh Instagram Account

Alongside the professional changes, Lassey has also chosen to reshape her online presence to reflect her new priorities.

Her latest Instagram account, launched under her married name, Stephanie Lassey, is intended to focus on her Christian faith and the journey she believes God is leading her through.

Starting a new account means leaving behind the audience she built over the years. Her former Instagram page had 140,000 followers, making the decision a significant step for someone whose public profile was established through her sporting achievements.

Lassey acknowledged that abandoning such a large following might seem an unusual move, but explained that she wanted to connect with people who were interested in the next stage of her life rather than the accomplishments that had already defined her public image.

She described the new account as a space for the “woman like me”.

“Honestly I’d rather start again knowing the people joining now want to be apart of the story God’s writing, not the one that’s already been written, even if that’s just a small amount,” she wrote.

For Lassey, the decision appears to be about more than changing her social media profile. It reflects her desire to share a different side of herself, one centred on faith, personal growth and the uncertainty of beginning again.

Hoping Her Story Gives Others Hope

In announcing the new account, Lassey explained that she wanted her experiences to encourage others who might be facing difficult periods in their own lives.

“Feels like the perfect time to start a fresh account, in my new name, and with a new commitment to sharing the journey God is taking me on,” she wrote.

She also shared her hope that telling her story would help others see the possibility of change, even after painful setbacks.

“I pray that my story would give you hope that God has the power to turn lives around, to restore what’s been broken and bless you above what you’ve asked, thought or even imagined.”

Although she has stepped away from a career that once defined her, relocated to another country and given up a long-awaited executive opportunity, Lassey says she is placing her trust in what comes next.

She closed her message by thanking those who have supported her and offering them a blessing.

“I love you all, thank you for your support. May God bless you abundantly.”

For the former Olympic champion, the next chapter remains uncertain. But as she begins again under a new name and with a renewed commitment to sharing her faith, she says she is prepared to let the journey unfold in its own time.