If you’ve noticed that a little bit of light has been missing from your social media feed through the dark days of winter, we’ve got the reason why.
Paige Spiranac broke her silence over what has been a quiet year for the golf influencer so far, explaining that “in a bit of a funk” and trying to work through it.
Spiranac, who boasts more than 5.5 million followers across social media and 4 million followers on Instagram alone, opened up about her absence during a fan Q&A on Tuesday.
In a reply to a question about her absence from socials for almost the entirety of 2026, the former collegiate golf champ said that she has been dealing with anxiety issues for some time and “overthinking everything.”
“I am in a bit of a funk, a rut if you will, and it’s not like a one or two day thing,” Spiranac said on her Instagram Story. “This has been going on for a little bit. I feel like I’ve just been so in my head about everything and I’m just trying to work through it. I think that’s why I haven’t been posting as much because I am just overthinking everything and I just feel like my anxiety has taken control.
“I’m trying to push myself outside of that and post more and get back to what I was doing before. I feel like I haven’t been active because I’ve just been in my own head, in this kind of funky rut and we’re working through it.”
Has Spiranac been golfing?
It’s not just social media that the blonde bombshell has taken a break from either, revealing that she hasn’t been hitting the golf course much.
Spiranac also explained that she also feels “really misunderstood” when asked about the biggest misconception about her.
“I almost felt bad for myself for such a long time and I was frustrated why people weren’t seeing me in a certain way or seeing me for me,” she said, per the New York Post. “And then I realized that they’re only seeing what I’m showing.
“I can sit there and I can complain about it, or I can do something about it. And that’s showing more of myself and my personality. I think that I put so many walls up because this job can be draining sometimes and quite soul-sucking.
“I think I put barriers up to protect myself and started to morph and change into a person that I didn’t really recognize and that I didn’t see as well.
“This year it’s more about showing and less explaining and trying to defend myself and just being who I am.”
How much has she been posting?
While she has occasionally posted quick Stories on Instagram, she has just one post and three reels on her feed so far this year.
As for what she has planned after dealing with her mental health issues, Spiranac said that she is focusing on creating a “fun golf series” and “potentially a product” of her own.
Barstool Internet Invitational controversy
Last November, Spiranac revealed that she was overwhelmed by the hate she received online following one controversial mistake during the Internet Invitational golf tournament that led to “tens of thousands of death threats.” The cheating controversy eventually ended up amounting to nothing.
“The last week and a half is probably the worst hate I’ve ever received in the ten years of me doing this,” Spiranac said during a Q and A session on Instagram Live. “I’m talking tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself, the most vile, horrendous stuff you could ever say to an individual, that’s been in my DMs to the point where we were discussing me having to potentially get a restraining order.
“I mean, it’s serious stuff. It’s not easy, and it hasn’t been easy.”
The controversy occurred during the final round of the made-for-streaming event, when Spiranac was accused of cheating after English pro golfer and YouTuber Peter Finch noticed her trampling down some grass in front of a ball in the rough. Doing so improved the lie for teammate Togisala.
After Togisala played an incredible escape, Portnoy asked if “Paige put that on a tee” for him.
“That lie in the rough there, it was s***. Paige has gone ahead to the ball and literally pressed down all the long in front so he could hit it out,” Finch said, with a clip showing Spiranac appearing to bend over and press down the long grass with her hands.
“There’s no way he could have hit that shot without that.”
Finch discussed it with a playing partner and decided to wait to see how the hole played out before bringing up the violation.
Spiranac’s team wound up losing the hole, making it a non-issue, but she was given a heads up from Finch.