FIGHTING BACK! MEA MOTU'S REDEMPTION

Counselling is helping the brave Kiwi boxer face up to her brutal past

- 

For the first time in her life, Mea Motu has her guard down. For years, the world champion and mother of five hid the truth - her “heart was hurting” after a decade of horrific domestic abuse and living in fear.

Believing in toughness, both in and out of the ring, was the only answer, thought Mea, 35.

“Physical hurt was fine, but I was suppressing my pain, my anger, my feelings and my mental health,” she tells Woman's Day. “I didn't know how to deal with it.”

At the urging of her boxing coach Isaac Peach, Mea finally tried counselling and says the results have been transformational.

“Now it's the best thing I do,” she enthuses. “I go every week without fail. It’s a safe place to express myself. It's given me a better understanding of others.”

Mea's even convinced her older children to give it a try.

“It’s helped them be prepared for school and for bullying, as well as to have the coping mechanisms for whatever comes at them in life.”

Not only is Mea's family thriving, but she’s also fully recovered from the severe pneumonia and deep vein thrombosis that left her hospitalised in January. After an enforced rest, she's "smashing" her fitness and has recently taken up running.

"By looking after my mental health, I've learned to look after my body as well," she shares.