The Ilona Maher effect: How a whirlwind six months made her the face of rugby – and so much more

A lot can happen in six months. And no one is more aware of that than Ilona Maher.

Since the Paris Olympics began last July, Maher has become an absolute sensation. She won a historic bronze medal as a member of the US Women’s Rugby Sevens squad, graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s “Swimsuit Edition,” finished runner-up on “Dancing With the Stars,” garnered new endorsements on her social media accounts, and signed a contract to play with England’s Bristol Bears rugby team — which moved its matches to a bigger stadium to satisfy the surge in ticket demand upon her arrival.

All the while, she became the most followed rugby player on the planet with 8 million fans (and counting) across social media platforms.

Because for 28-year-old Maher, it isn’t just about the accolades — it’s about her message. With her signature sense of humor (and ever-present bold lipstick), she has spoken openly about body image, confidence and beauty “standards,” breaking the traditional mold and inspiring millions of followers in the process.

So, how does it feel to have become America’s sweetheart?

“I love when people call me that because I feel like I’m maybe not the image you would have of a sweetheart in some sense of the word,” Maher told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane during a recent interview in Maher’s hometown of Burlington, Vermont.

“I’m honored.”

At the same time, she adds, “This was kind of the trajectory I wanted it to take. I knew that in my sport, I wouldn’t just get to play my sport and be happy with it. I knew that I had to do more to have a comfortable life for myself, to spread my game, to spread rugby in general. So for years now, I’ve been leading up to this point, hoping to do what I’ve done.

“And I’m so happy that this worked out like it did.”

First and foremost, Maher is an athlete — one who is proud of her body, and what it can achieve, she says. But people often forget that athletes are more than what they see on the field.

“I think (people) put female athletes, especially, into a box, like that’s all she is — ‘She plays on the field and that’s it.’ They forget the personalities that we have, how funny we are, the friendships, the way we are outside, the way we like to get dressed up,” Maher said.

“So it was important for me to show many sides of me and the body positivity, body appreciation side kind of came naturally in a way because it is something that I feel strongly about. Also, with a lot of my content, I try to see what’s relatable for others. And it’s so interesting in my time of learning to appreciate my body, you kind of start to realize, ‘Oh, everybody has insecurities.’”

Maher credits her parents — including her father Michael, who has played rugby for more than 40 years — for getting her into sports and supporting a positive body image, even as she “struggled with that growing up.”

“I have a body that a lot of people would say is not feminine or is not beautiful or is too strong, too this and that,” she said. “I never understood why my big body looked like this, yet I was always so fit and I was always so fast and I could always keep up. I didn’t look like them, so I just love that people are seeing me.”

But learning she should never apologize for who she is was a crucial lesson — and it came from her father. While playing fast-pitch softball as a young girl, Maher recalled, another father on the opposing team came up to her and said she needed to slow down — not one of the other players could hit her pitches.

Maher’s own dad was having none of it. He pulled out the rule book and said, “This is a fast-pitch league. She gets to throw fast pitches,” Maher remembered.

“I think that was the first moment of being told to never tone it down,” she said, “because that dad over there … wanted me to tone myself down so that it could be easier for (his daughter). But that’s not the world, is it? The world isn’t going to tone down for you.”

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Spend any time scrolling through comments under Maher’s social media posts, and it won’t take long to see her confidence is a trait so many of her fans admire.

And what she doesn’t have, she says, is imposter syndrome.

“I feel like I deserve what I’ve got,” Maher told CNN. “I think I’ve worked very hard, even in the rugby space … And then I do all the work off the field.”

“I posted videos consistently from (the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) until now,” she added. “I put myself out there, I put my whole personality — my whole everything — out there. So maybe I have a little (imposter syndrome) sometimes … but it’s OK to be proud of what you’ve done, and it’s OK to believe that you’ve worked to earn this.”

Coincidentally, not long after her interview with CNN, Maher posted a video on her social media accounts lamenting the concept of imposter syndrome and the fact that people often assume successful women have it.

Her unapologetic self continues to resonate. After her on-field debut with the Bristol Bears on January 5 — which featured a regular season league record crowd — Maher spent over an hour talking to fans, signing autographs and taking selfies.

“Hopefully, what my fans see is also a person who’s not perfect, who shows every side of themselves … it’s a constant battle of learning to love and appreciate your body. It’s never going to be, ‘I got it. I figured it out,’” she said.

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She says she’s grateful for the people who’ve helped her see her own body in this light, highlighting the role of rugby — a sport that shows what the body is capable of.

“That was what really helped me. And then my teammates — being around other women like that who are so confident kind of feeds into your confidence … It comes from inside,” she added.

“But it also can come from those outside factors and surrounding yourself with really good people.”