Ilona Maher Says Adjusting to Viral Fame was 'Hard' — But Working with Sports Psychologist Helped (Exclusive)

Ilona Maher, who partnered with Secret Outlast deodorant, tells PEOPLE about keeping her mental health in check amid the pressures of viral fame

Going out and winning a bronze medal in the Olympics is hard. Doing it with a massive social media following that hinges on your every move is even harder.

So has been the experience for rugby star Ilona Maher, who has amassed a following of more than 3 million fans after her funny, relatable videos first went viral during the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Though Maher, who has partnered with Secret Outlast deodorant to stay fresh on the field, says her hilarious online persona is entirely reflective of how she is in real life, there was certainly an adjustment period for the star as she skyrocketed to fame.

“During the games, I work with a sports psychologist every day, and I just keep my mindfulness there, because it was hard,” she tells PEOPLE at the P&G House in Paris. “All of a sudden, I had millions of new eyes on me wanting to do big things on the field. And I was like, what if I don’t deliver?”

Keeping mental health in check has been an important focus on this year’s Games for many athletes, including gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, who’s spoken at length about the benefits of therapy.

Maher, 27, says her psychologist Peter has been on hand in Paris to help with whatever she may need. He was there with the athlete in the parking lot downstairs from Stade de France ahead of her bronze medal-winning match against Australia on July 31, and he’s been there from day one in the Olympic Village, where Maher was initially “a little nervous” and overwhelmed as it gradually became flooded with more and more athletes.

Related: Olympics Star Ilona Maher Wears Lipstick on Rugby Pitch to Buck Stereotypes That It's a 'Man's Sport' (Exclusive)

But mostly, Maher has used her sessions as a way of sharing her feelings, especially regarding the mounting pressure that comes with being an internet darling.

“Sometimes I’d share with him like, ‘Hey Peter, I’m afraid I’m gonna embarrass myself, I’m afraid I’m going to do something wrong, and I’m afraid that people are gonna judge me or see it and not want this,’ ” she says. “I felt like I had a lot of expectation on me and I didn’t want that to control me, like it maybe could have in Tokyo.”

Related: Olympian Ilona Maher Posts Fun Video Eating Giant Croissant While Wearing Bronze Medal: ‘Just a Little Treat’

Maher knows her fans, both old and new, have been keeping an eye on her Olympics performance. That’s why she’s realized the importance of surrounding herself with people who “genuinely care for me,” and who know the real her, the one outside of social media.

“So many people think they know you and they’ll make assumptions about you and say things about you and it’ll sometimes get to your head,” she says. “Having people who actually are present with you in real life who could say, ‘No, that’s just not true,’ is so important and I wish more people had that.”

For now, the hard part is over. Maher has her bronze medal safely around her neck, and is already focusing on the next Games, which will take place in Los Angeles in 2028. Still, though her Paris experience was rewarding, she found it “very hard and very stressful,” and is grateful for the down time to come.

Related: Rugby Star Ilona Maher's Sister Coined the Viral 'Girl Dinner' — Here's What They're Eating in Paris (Exclusive)

“You know how you dream things? I sometimes get scared of like, what if I get transported back in time to those rugby games? I’m like, I don’t wanna go through that again,” she says. “We went into this tournament having heard, ‘If you don’t get a medal, we might not have a program next year.’ And that stuck with us because we want this program to last, and we wanted to make it better for the next young generation that comes in.”

Once she heads home, Maher says she’s ready to get back into a routine, with her friends and family at the ready.

“The hype has been so great, but also I am also interested in what the comedown is gonna be, because people talk about post-Olympic blues a lot and getting very sad after the games and the hype fizzles,” she says. “So I'm interested to see what happens. But again, I have a really good support system that will be there for me.”

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