Iain Valliere debunks the concept of a romantic partner or spouse distracting from bodybuilding greatness.
Iain Valliere is a bodybuilder who is happily married. He’s also a successful pro bodybuilder – a sport that demands quite a bit of time. So much time, in fact, that many legendary pro bodybuilders have claimed that romantic relationships and families are too distracting for bodybuilding success. In order to become a champion, you need the kind of full focus that would either destroy the relationship or destroy your champion chances. But for Valliere, he finds the exact opposite to be true. In our latest GI Exclusive, Iain Valliere explains how his wife is a vital part of his bodybuilding success – instead of a distraction.
During our time interviewing a wide variety of bodybuilding legends and champions. We’ve seen a common sentiment among elite competitive bodybuilders. Dating, romantic relationships, and marriage are too challenging of a dedication to coincide with bodybuilding success. Most notably, 8x Mr. Olympia Lee Haney stated this during the filming of Generation Iron 2.
The idea here is that bodybuilding on a pro level requires so much focus and time – it’s impossible to share it with a romantic partner. During our conversation with Iain Valliere, we decided to ask him for his take on this concept. Valliere is happily married to Chris Bumstead’s sister – Melissa Valliere. She is a competitor in her own right – and according to Iain – has been a vital part of his success. Not a detriment to it.
Iain Valliere acknowledges that bodybuilding is a major time commitment both mentally and physically. But he also points out that kind of commitment is very challenging to do alone. Having a partner by his side through the ups and down of bodybuilding prep is a major support. It helps him remain more focused and achieve better results.
Iain Valliere uses an example to drive this point home. In 2020, Valliere competed in the Tampa Pro and reveals that during this contest prep he had a “mental breakdown” in his own words. He attributes this to his wife not being by his side for that particular competition.
“I had a mental breakdown. I really couldn’t handle all of the pressures and the stress being by myself,” Iain Valliere states in our interview – speaking of the Tampa Pro 2020. He continued:
“And you know, I was running around trying to get food. And worried about doing this, and worried about doing this. As well as, you know, when you are alone in your thoughts too much, you’re looking at social media and all of these things and I really got in my head.”
Iain Valliere goes on to say that having his wife by his side alleviates these issues. She is his support system. Being a fellow competitor, she can also provide much more pointed and empathetic support as she is more than familiar with the process.
And perhaps that is another key element for Iain Valliere’s success in both bodybuilding and marriage. If not a fellow competitor, finding someone who fully understands what the bodybuilding process really entails is key. If not, resentment can grow. Stress can come from resentment. And then both a bodybuilding career and a relationship can implode.
Iain Valliere also shares some tips and tactics that have worked to keep his marriage a focus while also putting his all into pro bodybuilding. Perhaps some of these tips can be helpful for those looking to find balance in the hectic life of competitive bodybuilding and relationships.
You can watch Iain Valliere’s take on relationships and bodybuilding – as well as tips to finding balance – in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
