How Rachel Kolisi overcame adversity: her 2025 healing journey will astound you

Rachel Kolisi, former Springbok WAG, has faced a challenging and transformative year.

After her separation from Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in late 2024, Rachel's journey has been one of vulnerability and healing. Throughout 2025, Rachel showed everyone that healing is not always a straight path.

She used her social media platform to share her experiences, helping others understand that it’s okay to feel lost sometimes.

Key moments in Rachel's healing journey 

• Solo Trip to Botswana: In January, she took a solo trip to Botswana, where she connected with nature and discovered the power of solitude. Rachel shared moments of herself reading and boxing to cope with her feelings, reminding her followers to "Trust the process," and that "Healing is not linear."
• "Women's Health" Cover: The mom of two appeared on the cover of the March/April issue of "Women's Health". In her interview, she opened up about her own struggles and how she is working to "break generational trauma". She spoke honestly about her feelings, admitting, "February is showing me flames", making it clear that some months can be harder than others.
• The "Closure" Trip to Paris: As part of her healing, Rachel took her children to Paris in November. Even though they had moved back to South Africa the year before, Rachel believed it was important to say proper goodbyes to their friends and teachers. On this trip, she also showed her commitment to co-parenting by supporting Siya at his 100th Test cap match for the Springboks at the Stade de France. 
• "Failing Forward": In a raw TikTok video, Rachel admitted she hadn't "been okay for a really long time". She discussed the idea of "failing forward", making mistakes but still moving toward your goal. By sharing this vulnerability with her followers, she sparked a wave of support, encouraging others to embrace their struggles and messy feelings as part of life.

During her journey, Rachel often spoke about "throwing all her faith in Jesus" and finding strength in reading the Bible.

Rachel also shared a quote that resonated with many: "If you don't know what to pursue in life right now, pursue yourself ... become the healthiest, happiest, most healed version of yourself".

She engaged in activities like boxing and cycling, using physical movement as a way to process her emotional pain.

Rachel's "year of healing" has inspired countless others.

By showing her vulnerabilities, she has created a supportive environment where people feel safe to share their own struggles and understand that it’s perfectly normal to have ups and downs on the journey of life.