2025 was not about controversy or competition. Rather, for Paige Spiranac, it was about loss. Long before the public flashpoint, cheating scandals, and online hate, Spiranac’s life was overcome with grief. None of what happened afterwards could match that intensity.

It was “truly one of the worse experience” of her life, as she reveals in her recent YouTube video titled “Q&A to kick off 2026: You’ve been asking, now I’m answering ⛳️.”

“And then my dog died, Nico,” Spiranac tells while narrating the events of 2025. A portrait of Nico is visible on the wall behind her. “…That’s just to name a few. It was kind of like something amazing would happen, and then something absolutely soul-shattering, heartbreaking would happen to me. And that’s just kind of how I felt my 2025 was going.”

Nico passed away from cancer on March 5. Spiranac shared the devastating news with her fans in a video. At 32, she admitted she had never experienced grief like this before. Nico, a rescue she adopted in 2017, became what she called her ‘soul dog.’ He was a constant presence on her Instagram and a steadying force as she transitioned from competitive golf into her media and modeling career. Her Instagram was often filled with his pictures, with a dedicated video made back in August 2020.

After his passing, Spiranac carried an iron engraved with his name at the Creator Classic. She even used a custom headcover featuring his face – a gift from her parents. She called the gift a “celebration” of Nico’s life.

“I kind of walked away from 2025 being like, ‘This year was the worst.'” Spiranac continued in her video.

While Nico’s death was the emotional peak of her year, there were other challenges too. From people pretending to be her and asking for money, to online harassment, the list is long. The most high-profile was the scandalous Barstool Sports’ $1 million Internet Invitational. Played by the most famous YouTube golfers, the 48-player event was marred by various controversies, from a player’s death to unfair means of play. At the centre of these was Paige Spiranac.

Spiranac reached the final of the event with Frankie Borrelli and Malosi Togisala. But before she could win, the video footage showed her tamping down fescue on the ninth hole, which was a rule violation. When confronted, she said she didn’t realise that it violated the rules, something the fans and fellow players found hard to believe.

After she lost the game, the video went viral, and the online hate reached its height. On her Instagram stories, Spiranac revealed that she received “tens of thousands of death threats.”

“The last week and a half is probably the worst hate I’ve ever received in the 10 years of me doing this,” she said in one of her stories.

To protect her mental health, Spiranac walked away from social media. The incident caused several people to question the hate that public celebrities receive, especially women. While Spiranac did violate her rules, so did Togisala by using his rangefinder. Yet, the backlash he received was minimal.

After taking the much-needed distance, Spiranac now frames the year differently.

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The pros and cons of Paige Spiranac’s 2025

“Upon reflection, I was able to be like, ‘Oh, okay. Here were all of the good things, and here are all the things that I  learned…that I can take going into 2026.”

Despite the emotional weight that defined much of her year, 2025 was also marked by several professional highs for Spiranac. Starting off big, she made her cameo in Happy Gilmore 2, sharing screen with Adam Sandler and various other notable golfers like Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda. The release of the film was followed by massive attention and success.

At the same time, Spiranac was successful in guessing the outcome at the Masters. For years, she had placed her belief in Rory McIlroy, and finally this year her prediction came true. She had predicted the same result during the Super Bowl week in New Orleans.

“I say this every single year, but Rory is going to win the green jacket,” she said at the time. “It will hit one year, I promise.” In 2025, it finally did.

After McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a one-hole playoff, she celebrated the moment on X, calling it “one of the most electric rounds of golf” she’s ever seen.

On the other hand, her career expanded into more leadership roles. She officially joined the Grass League in a front-office position. For her, this was a “full circle moment” because the event took place near San Diego State University, the same place her golf journey began in 2012. She even worked as the event’s broadcaster, which aired live on the Golf Channel on December 6.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” she had said.

While Spiranac might have had a rough 2025, she is looking at the bright side and is entering the new year with a positive mindset.