What does it mean when the most followed woman in golf says she no longer recognizes herself? Paige Spiranac has 4 million Instagram followers, a podcast, and a decade of content that made her one of golf’s most talked-about digital figures. But she admits the public image does not match who she really is.
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In an Instagram Stories Q&A to kick off 2026, the 32-year-old former professional golfer addressed the question that has trailed her for years—what is the biggest misconception about you? Her answer didn’t point outward. It pointed inward.
“I think I’m actually really misunderstood,” Spiranac said, “and I almost felt bad for myself for such a long time, and I was frustrated why people weren’t seeing me for me. And then I realized that they’re only seeing what I’m showing them.”
The admission carries weight because it arrives without deflection. No blame for critics. No complaints about algorithms or headlines. Just ownership.
Spiranac described the job as “draining” and “quite soul-sucking,” then went further. She spoke of putting up barriers to protect herself, of morphing and changing into someone she didn’t recognize. The language wasn’t vague frustration—it was specific erosion. “If I didn’t even know who I was,” she asked, “how could other people see who I am?”
This is the main point of her 2026 statement.
For years, Spiranac tried to explain and defend herself. Each time, she was accused of playing the victim. The cycle wore her down. Facts and truth made no difference. The more she explained, the more people refused to listen. So she stopped.
“This year it’s more about showing and less explaining or trying to defend myself and just being who I am,” Spiranac said. The shift isn’t subtle. It’s a full pivot from justification to demonstration, letting actions speak where words kept failing.
Spiranac has come to terms with the fact she will be “willfully misunderstood” by some, recent reports indicate, a resignation rather than resentment. The acceptance seems to have unlocked something. Instead of fighting perception, she’s choosing to outpace it.
The barriers she references didn’t appear out of nowhere.
Paige Spiranac’s history with stalkers and online harassment
Over the past decade, Spiranac has faced threats that most people have never seen. She was stalked in college, which forced her to delete Instagram and change her username. She received death threats because of her clothing. In 2023, she got a restraining order against a man who followed her to a tournament and had previously stalked actress Olivia Wilde.
In late 2025, during the Internet Invitational, a rules dispute and cheating accusations led to tens of thousands of death threats against her. She later said it was the worst hate she had received in ten years. She stepped away from the sport for her mental health.
This explains why she described her work as soul-sucking and why she built barriers.
It is not clear if showing more of herself will mean taking more risks. After ten years of building walls, Spiranac is prepared to see what happens next.