More Than a Title

When Rebecca Roberts won back her World's Strongest Woman title, it was more than just a victory. Reflecting on the immense personal loss she had just endured, she said, "I felt like the world's strongest woman not only physically but mentally as well."

But where does that kind of strength—the kind that can withstand the weight of the world—truly come from? Her story doesn't start in an arena lifting cars and stones. To find the answer, we must journey back to a lonely childhood, where a young girl decided to write her own destiny.

 A Lonely Start

Rebecca’s story begins in a small town in North Wales, a place with little diversity where, in her own words, she "stuck out like a sore thumb." Her childhood was marked by a profound sense of isolation and a series of devastating losses that would have broken most people.

• Bullying at School: Rebecca was bullied for being bigger than the other children, an experience that led her to hate sports and physical education.
  
  
• Losing Her Mom: Her mother passed away when she was just 12 years old.
  
  
• Losing Her Dad: Just one year later, at 13, her father was diagnosed with dementia, and Rebecca was taken into the care system.

In the span of a single year, the two pillars of her world—her mother and father—were gone, leaving her adrift in a system she never asked for. Feeling like an "outcast," surrounded by peers in the care system who were committing crimes, Rebecca had to find her own hope. She looked at the life around her and made a powerful decision:

I don't want this life for myself.

With no one pushing her to succeed, she drew on a lesson learned from her father, a marathon runner who worked three jobs to provide for his family. She saw how hard he worked for the life he wanted, and she knew she had to do the same. Rebecca channeled all her energy into her studies, driven by the singular goal of attending university. Through sheer internal drive, she became one of the first people from her area's care system to achieve this milestone.

This incredible focus provided an escape, but her school days remained lonely. It wasn't until she left her small town that she would finally find a community where she belonged.

Finding Her Place in the Scrum

Arriving at university in Liverpool was a revelation. In a large, diverse city, Rebecca no longer stuck out. It was there that she discovered rugby, which became her "first real positive experience of sport." On the rugby pitch, for the first time in her life, her size wasn't a source of shame; it was a source of power. Every tackle, every push in the scrum, was a rejection of the years of bullying.

Rugby was transformative for three key reasons:

1. Acceptance: On the pitch, her body was "accepted for who you were and your strengths were celebrated."
   
   
2. Belonging: The team comprised individuals of all shapes and sizes, from quick movers to large, heavy props. As she put it, "everyone fit in." She had found her place.
   
   
3. Strength: In the gym and on the field, she discovered a natural strength that translated directly into success, lifting teammates in lineouts and holding her own in the scrum.

For the first time, Rebecca was thriving—in the classroom, in the weight room, and on the field. But just as she found this new confidence and community, it was all about to be taken away.

Back to the Darkness

During a match, Rebecca suffered a devastating back injury that ended her rugby career. The physical toll was immense: she tore ligaments, slipped two discs, and "couldn't walk." For six long months, she was on morphine to manage the pain.

The mental and emotional impact was just as severe. She "fell into an intense depression." Without rugby, she lost her social outlet and the friends that came with it. Once again, she was living a solitary life. During this period, her weight ballooned from 220 lbs to nearly 400 lbs, and she felt as though she had "no reason to live." This is where the chapter could have ended. How do you come back from losing everything, all over again?

A glimmer of hope was just around the corner, sparked by a meeting that would change the entire trajectory of her life.

The Man Who Saw a Champion

In May 2016, Rebecca met her late partner, Paul, on an online dating website. He was a strongman enthusiast who loved lifting heavy weights. For their first date, he didn't take her to a movie or a restaurant; he took her to the gym to help her rehabilitate.

Paul saw something in Rebecca that she couldn't see in herself. Just one month after they met, he made an incredible prediction:

He told me he could make me the world's strongest woman within 5 years.

He saw the complete package: a person forged by hardship with the mindset to overcome anything. He recognized her potential in a way no one ever had.

With Paul’s unwavering belief lighting the way, Rebecca began a new journey, and the results were more rapid and stunning than either of them could have imagined.

Forging a Legacy

Rebecca's entry into the world of strongwoman was a whirlwind of activity. She met Paul in May 2016. With no amateur circuit to climb, she jumped straight into the deep end, entering the UK's Strongest Woman competition as her first significant test. By September of that same year, she had won the title. Five years later, in 2021, she fulfilled Paul's incredible prophecy by winning her first World's Strongest Woman title.

Tragically, Paul passed away in December 2022. The loss was devastating, leaving Rebecca at a critical crossroads. Faced with unimaginable grief, she found herself making the same fundamental choice she had made as a teenager in the care system: refuse to be defined by her circumstances.

Do I sit here and let the gift that he has given me go to waste... or do I use the gift that he's given me to go on and create the legacy that we wanted as a partnership?

She chose to create a legacy. The gym became her positive outlet. Surrounded by what she calls a "life jacket of friends" from the strongwoman community, she trained for the prestigious Arnold competition. Just three months after Paul’s passing, she competed on the stage they had dreamed of together and placed second.

The emotional peak of her journey came later that year. The day before the first anniversary of Paul's death, Rebecca Roberts won back her World's Strongest Woman title. Lifting that final stone, she wasn't just winning a title; she was honoring a promise, creating a legacy, and proving that the deepest grief could be forged into unbreakable strength.

The Real Meaning of Strength

Rebecca Roberts' journey is about so much more than lifting cars or stones. It's a story about finding strength in the darkest of places, about turning pain into purpose, and about the power of community. Her life teaches us that true strength isn't about never falling; it's about having the courage to show your vulnerability, to ask for help, and to keep moving forward, one step at a time, no matter how difficult the path.

She lives by a simple, powerful mantra that carried her through it all, a message of hope for anyone facing their own challenges.

Just keep swimming.