Early Saturday morning on March 5, Australians woke up to the tragic news that Shane Warne had died overnight of a suspected heart attack in Thailand, aged just 52.
WATCH BELOW: Shane – Official Trailer
The cricket legend is survived by his three children, Brooke, 24, Jackson, 22 and Summer, 20, whom he shares with ex-wife Simone Callahan.
The pair were married for 10 years after tying the knot in 1995, and in the wake of Shane’s career taking off in 2005, they made the move to the United Kingdom as a family.
Although, Simone was greeted with a scandal as soon as she touched down in the UK with the kids, which ultimately put a strain on her marriage with Shane.
“Unfortunately, there was a story that broke with me and two women just before they landed and as they landed that was there and Simone read that story,” Shane said in the Amazon Prime documentary, Shane.
After the news broke, Simone returned to Australia with the kids, and the pair officially divorced that same year.
“Getting divorced was a difficult time in my life and for my children — and it was my fault,” Shane said on Fox Cricket’s broadcast. “So I have to live with that for the rest of my life, it wasn’t easy.”
Giving their relationship another chance, Shane and Simone attempted to reconcile after their divorce, but ended up parting ways again in 2010.
Speaking on their time together in an interview to The Sun On Sunday in 2018, Simone said, “We really wanted to make it work and we had some happy times.
“But in the end, we had grown too far apart and I still had trust issues because of all the times Shane had cheated.”
Despite their public split, Shane and Simone remained friends and co-parented their three kids over the years.
“Co-parenting is never easy but you’ve got to be a grown up and if you put your kids first you can do it,” Shane told Confidential in 2020.
“When people start using the children for their own advantages and don’t make them the priority, that’s when difficulties happen.
“Both of us have put our children as our number one priority at all times and that’s why it’s been able to work.”
In 2021, the cricket legend shared further insight into the difficulty of being a single parent, alongside the upsides of it all.
“I always made their lunches, walked them to school, took them to sport, etc,” he told The Herald Sun.
“It was bloody hard – being a single parent is difficult, but fun too. I’m so glad they are 19, 21 and 23 now.”
And while his family is yet to publicly share their grief over his sudden death, James Erskine, Shane’s long-time manager, revealed that Simone was “really upset”.
“I think the three children are in complete shock,” James told Weekend Today. “I spoke to them yesterday and again. Jackson just said, ‘We just expect him to walk in the door. This is like a bad dream’.”
He added: “I think that’s what happens when you have a sudden death and you’re not expecting it.
“One minute the kids are talking to him every day, the next minute they can’t talk to him and then they start thinking about, ‘He’s not going to be there for my 21st, he’s not going to take me down the aisle’.”
Shane’s nearest and dearest will be able to say their goodbyes and bid him an official farewell with an upcoming State Funeral.
For more on the life and legacy of Shane Warne, read the articles below
How did Shane Warne die? All we know so far
Celebrity tributes flow in for ‘Spin King’ Shane Warne following his sudden death
Despite his legendary cricket career, Shane Warne’s greatest achievements was his kids
Inside Jackson Warne’s close relationship with his father Shane
From Simone Callahan to Liz Hurley: Shane Warne’s love life was complicated but rewarding
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