Caroline Dubois left her family home two years ago, with a row with her father, Stan Dubois, also known as Dave, serving as the catalyst. According to BBC Sport, Caroline Dubois described separating from an overbearing environment where she felt unable to have an opinion or voice, and she has since embraced her freedom. She does not plan to reconcile with her father, though she hopes to reconcile with her brother Daniel and suspects time will heal their relationship.
Her early boxing career was marked by determination; at age nine, she pretended to be a boy named Colin to box in a world that did not always see a future for female boxers. She went on to win Youth Olympic gold, European gold, and qualified for the Olympics at age 19, and in 2024, she beat Maira Moneo to become WBC 'interim' champion. The family dynamics have affected her relationship with Daniel; he was not present when she became WBC 'interim' champion, and she was not present when he knocked out Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium or when he lost to Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It's such a messed-up situation. It's just so complex.
According to BBC Sport, Caroline Dubois described not watching Daniel fight in person or on TV since she moved out, finding it hard as a sister unable to support him directly. Her training background reflects family influence; she grew up under a strict, high-pressure boxing regime overseen by her father, but after leaving home, she continued training under Shane McGuigan. The specific incident that caused the row with her father remains unclear, and it is unknown how the family dynamic has affected her boxing career and training, or whether Daniel has publicly commented on the estrangement.
When you separate yourself from a person who can be overbearing, where you're not allowed to have an opinion and not allowed to have a voice, and then you have that freedom, you find what you like and what you dislike.
I think it was obviously a reflection of the time, but the thing I find most sad is that they actually thought I was a boy. I mean, that's devastating. But at the time, I was full Mulan... enjoying it, I didn't care.
I haven't been able to watch him fight - in person or on TV - since I moved out. I don't watch him as a friend, I watch him as a sister. It is hard if you're not there to speak to him and check in on him, go up to him afterwards and either console him or give him a slap on the back. It's been very hard.