Verona van de Leur was 16 years old when she became the European runner-up in artistic gymnastics. That same year, the Netherlands named her the country’s best female athlete. Everything pointed to a golden career.
But in 2008 she retired, her parents kicked her out of the house, and she ended up living with her boyfriend inside a snow-covered car. She showered in gyms whenever she could and admitted to stealing just to eat. Then came 72 days in prison.
It was right there, at her lowest point, that she received an offer to work in adult films. She accepted it because of the money they offered. Years later, in her autobiography “Simply Verona” and in an interview with CNN Sport, she was clear: “I don’t regret it, the alternative was to keep living on the streets”.
