By Terence Dooley

Ireland’s Katie Taylor (10-0, 5 KOs) is riding high as a professional after annexing the WBA and IBF World Female lightweight titles yet the 2012 Olympic gold medallist is set to reveal the depth of the personal heartache that she felt after learning that her father and former coach, Pete, had been having an affair with a younger woman. 

Pete Taylor left his wife after striking up a relationship with Karen Brown, now 30, in a move that left Taylor and the rest of the family devastated.

A documentary following her early professional development will be released later this year and it will lift the lid on the events surrounding her estrangement from her father, a move that left her bereft when the time came to go back to the gym without him.

According to Lauren Kelly of The Sun, Taylor revealed that: “The first time I had to go training without him, I was driving in by myself and the tears were rolling down my face.  I just felt like every time I was stepping into the ring without my dad at that time, I was missing an arm.”

The father-daughter training team was ripped apart just months before what was a torrid 2016 Games for the female boxer, who was knocked out in her first fight and decided to rebuild as a professional after teaming up with promoter Eddie Hearn.  Her brother, Peter, told the documentary team that their father’s decision had an impact on both their family life and Taylor’s form ahead of a crucial period in her amateur career.  

“Only a few months out from the Olympics we learned that my dad had an affair on my mum,” he said.  “Of course to Katie this is the most heart breaking news.  To all of us in the family this was really heart breaking.”

Katie Taylor: The Comeback is directed by Ross Whitaker, who told joe.ie that: “It’s been a privilege to follow so closely the remarkable and fascinating quest that Katie has taken on and it’s priceless to be able to bring the audience so close to Katie.  Katie might be shy and private, but she has that presence that draws the camera and the audience to her.”

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