Schapelle Corby’s ‘Painful’ Interview Ahead of SAS Australia Reality Show Debut

Schapelle Corby’s Sunrise interview this morning got off to a rocky start when the convicted drug lord appeared offended by a question from co-host Sam Armytage.

Appearing tonight before his reality TV debut on Seven’s new show SAS Australia, Corby joined Armytage and co-host David Koch live from his home on the Gold Coast.

“I covered part of your trial in Bali. If you had told me, go ahead 10, 15 years, I would interview you now on a reality show, I would have said, ‘Oh, for the love of God,'” Armytage began, before Corby, who seemed to have a hard time hearing the question, intervened.

“If one of the what? If one of the what?” she asked.

Armytage repeated the question, but Corby cut her off mid-sentence. “Well, I would have had no idea what it would be like in my future,” he said.

“What do you say to people who are surprised that you want to pursue a career in television?” The Armytage continued.

“Nothing. It’s about myself. I did this myself,” Corby said with a frustrated expression.

From there, Corby, 43, seemed to warm up as he spoke about the mental and physical challenges he endured while filming SAS Australia, a new military-style reality show that will put a group of Australian celebrities through tough challenges.

“So I wanted to do it; I wanted to see if I was in control of my mind,” he said.

But a question from Koch elicited another terse response from Corby. He asked “what was more difficult? Doing this [show], or spend those years in a Bali jail? “

“Well, it’s completely different, Kochie,” Corby replied, looking more deadly as the hosts waited for her to expand on her answer.

Corby served nine years in Bali’s infamous Kerobokan Prison after being convicted of importing 4.2kg of marijuana into Bali in a surfboard bag.

Later in the interview, Corby spoke about what his life has been like since he returned to Australia from Bali three years ago. While he has turned down most opportunities in the media so far, he has a prolific Instagram account with over 160,000 followers. He said that he spends “a lot of time alone in me [art] study”.

“I’m happy in my life, but I was feeling a bit stuck. I wasn’t looking for friends or making plans, so I needed this little SAS exercise, and it really kicked my butt.”

When the interview ended, the hosts asked Corby about her long-distance relationship with her Indonesian boyfriend Ben Panangian.

“He’s very important. He’s a huge motivator for me. Umm … yeah. He’s very upbeat … he’s a big part of my life. It works because we have video chats. It’s not just letters or normal phone calls. We talk to each other. like three, four times a day … it works for us, this long distance relationship, “he said.

Despite those thoughts, it was a bumpy interview, with commenters on social media labeling it “painful” and “excruciating to watch.”