From womanizer to devoted husband, from Bikini to Hijab; Bill Williams shares proudest moment
'From the outside I was the picture of success but I was deeply unhappy.' 'With that boundary-less life, I didn't feel any empowerment. Now, I don't wake up with a hangover and feeling disgusted in myself and soulless. Now, I feel a life of empowerment.'
Sonny Bill Williams, the former rugby star-turned-boxer, who reverted to Islam in 2009 shared his ‘one of the proudest moments of my life’ after his wife, Alana, decided to wear a hijab. Taking to twitter he shared the photo of his family writing, “My wife’s a hijabi! Alhamdullilah my wife decided to put the head scarf on. One of the proudest moments of my life. What makes it so special is knowing she has done it for Allah SWT and no one else. May the most high always bless you with good health, contentment & happiness.”
Revealing last year how his seemingly ‘dream’ lifestyle was all a facade before he embraced Islam, The 37-year-old had told the Irish Times, ‘From the outside I was the picture of success but I was deeply unhappy.’ He added ‘It was a facade and I was still playing some amazing football.”
Having spent his younger days as a womaniser, Williams turned his life around after converting to Islam. Now the former rugby star strives to be the best husband he could be for Alana Raffie.
Williams’ wife Alana Raffie worked as a nightclub dancer before meeting the footy legend. Earlier pictured even in a bikini, now Alana has chosen to wear hijab, the head covering.
Comparing his before Islam life with today’s the former All Blacks superstar states, “I feel like I am still a work in progress. But at that time when everything looked perfect: I hate saying it like this but it appeared from the outside as this good looking young man who had fame and money and attention from the opposite sex and had privileges.”
“With that boundary-less life, I didn’t feel any empowerment. Now, I don’t wake up with a hangover and feeling disgusted in myself and soulless. Now, I feel a life of empowerment.”
