Shane Warne endured a difficult love life – including a 10-year marriage which was surrounded by cheating scandals, a failed engagement to Elizabeth Hurley, and unsuccessful flirtations on social media with celebrities.
The Australian cricketer turned pundit, one of the finest bowlers of all time who revived the art of leg-spin, has died aged 52 following a suspected heart attack.
Warne – a larger-than-life character whose 708 Test wickets has only been surpassed by contemporary rival and fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan – could not be revived after being found unresponsive in his Thailand villa on Friday.
The cricket legend – who retired in 2013 but continued to be involved in the game as a broadcaster – was equally as noted for his life off the field as on it.
Having had his fair share of high-profile romances – most notably a failed engagement to Elizabeth Hurley, his scandalous love life also included a 10-year marriage to former model Simone Callahan, whom he divorced in 2005.
He also faced multiple sexting scandals dating back to 2000, was spotted trying to flirt across social media with glamour models and celebs such as Kate Beckinsale, and at 51 was still found to be on Tinder.
Here, FEMAIL takes a look back at the cricketer’s colourful love life…
10-YEAR MARRIAGE
For ten years he was married to his childhood sweetheart Simone Callahan (pictured together in 2007), having three children together: Jackson, Summer and Brooke
During his career he gained a reputation as the blonde-haired, blue-eyed hero of the sport, buccaneering bowler on the pitch and a playboy off it, famed for his love of beer and cigarettes.
For ten years he was married to his childhood sweetheart Simone, having three children together: Jackson, Summer and Brooke.
The couple split after a decade, and in a heartbreaking documentary, he confronted being caught cheating on his then wife Simone with multiple women, which led to their marriage breaking down in 2005.
The Amazon Prime programme, which came out this year, saw him admit to drowning his sorrows alone in his hotel room, drinking until he was ‘crying on the floor’ after his family fled England in the wake of the scandals.
Ms Callahan also spoke about her own heartbreak after landing in the UK to find stories of her husband’s numerous infidelities splashed across newspaper front pages.
She told the show she and the couple’s three children ‘were going to set up a life in England’ and had uprooted their lives in Australia to do so.
Warne revealed that ‘unfortunately there was a story that broke of me with two women just before they landed… Simone read that story.’
Callahan described the litany of newspaper articles about her husband’s affairs as: ‘Shane’s with this [woman], Shane’s with this [woman], Shane’s with that [woman].’
‘My life was pretty much turned on its head,’ the former model-turned-yoga instructor said. ‘It wasn’t even a two-week turnaround before I came back to Australia.’
The spin bowler ultimately owned up to his mistakes, confessing in an interview at the time: ‘I gave into temptation, gave into opportunity.’
The pair, who share children Brooke, Jackson and Summer, briefly reconciled after their divorce, but split for good in 2007.
ENGAGEMENT TO ELIZABETH HURLEY
Warne and Elizabeth Hurley (pictured in 2013) first got together in late 2010, before Shane popped the question to the Austin Powers actress in September 2011, but they sadly split in 2013
Warne and Elizabeth Hurley first got together in late 2010, before Shane popped the question to the Austin Powers actress in September 2011, but they sadly split in 2013.
He said of the romance in 2018: ‘Who knows what the future holds. There’s a difference between in love with someone and loving someone.
‘I’ll always love Elizabeth but I don’t think we’ll ever get back together.’
Shane’s words came a few days after he branded his romance with Elizabeth as being the ‘happiest time of his life.’
The cricketer reflected back on his romance with Elizabeth, saying: ‘When we were together we both had a great time. Unfortunately it didn’t work out.
‘It wasn’t something that she or I did wrong, it just fizzled out. We’re still great friends, we still stay in touch, we’re good for each other and our kids get along great.’
SOCIAL MEDIA FLIRTATIONS
‘You are hilarious!’ In December, Shane left a flirty comment underneath a video of Kate standing in the rain without an umbrella
In February 2022, Warne hit headlines after ‘liking’ and commenting on Kate Beckinsale’s Instagram posts, sparking rumours of a romance.
‘It’s no wonder Warney’s all over Kate. She’s a younger version of his ex Elizabeth Hurley,’ a source told Woman’s Day. The insider even described Warne and Kate as a potential ‘match made in heaven’.
While mother-of-one Kate didn’t appear to reciprocate the cricketer’s advances, this didn’t stop him from going on a liking spree across several weeks.
In December, Warne left a flirty comment underneath a video of Kate standing in the rain without an umbrella. ‘You are hilarious!!!!’ Warne wrote, adding a crying-with-laughter emoji.
One fan noticed his flirty advances and replied directly to Warne’s comment: ‘Ooooh Warney going for it. His next Liz Hurley.’
‘Shane is certainly getting her attention by making sure he pops up in her Instagram notifications just in case,’ the source told Woman’s Day.
FAN OF TINDER
The single star had also hit the headlines in recent years for his reported use of online dating apps.
In 2015, single mother Kim McGrath claimed to Woman’s Day that she hooked up with Shane after the pair were matched on Tinder.
Kim told the magazine that she and Shane had a wild sex romp, with Shane ‘asking her to stand in the corner in her high heels while he spanked her’ before the cricket ace encouraged her to try a few ‘porno’ style moves.
In early 2016, 24-year-old Simone Toon claimed she met Shane on the website richsugardaddies.com.
The busty model told The Sun that Warne sent pictures of his manhoood, before saying he wanted to ‘whip and spank’ her.
The newspaper reported that Simone Toon said the Spin King was ‘begging her for a kinky threesome with a ‘sl*t” just minutes after they met.
Several months later, Shane was caught by paparazzi heading to socialite Brynne Edelsten’s apartment for a ‘nightcap’. Shane accused Brynne of tipping off the photographers, with the busty blonde hitting back, showing Woman’s Day the cricket star’s texts.
‘Excited for me to devour u? X’ one of Warne’s steamy messages to Brynne read.
And last year in London, Shane was snapped smooching a blonde woman, who was revealed as twenty-something law student, Kathryn Long.
SEX SCANDALS
Warne and his ex girlfriend Emily Scott pictured in 2014. The pair split after just three months together
Busty Australian glamour model Emily Sears slammed rumours she had a fling with cricketer Warne (pictured together) in 2018
In 2019, it was reported Warne had allegedly had a noisy four-way sex party with his lover and two escorts at his £2.7million Maida Vale home in north-west London.
The spin bowler threw the windows open wide and his antics with his unnamed lover and two sex workers identified as Davina, 19, and Poppy, 27, were reportedly so loud the neighbours could hear.
They left from the TV pundit’s home two hours later when his lover drove them away in his Jaguar, according to The Sun.
One onlooker said: ‘He was having quite a party in there and didn’t seem to give a damn who heard what was going on. He left the windows wide open and you could clearly hear all the noises.’
It was the latest in a series of sex scandals for the cricketer; earlier that year he raised eyebrows by flirting with 21-year-old Love Island contestant Lucie Donlan on Instagram, who is younger than his eldest daughter.
In 2000, he lost the Australia vice-captaincy for sending erotic texts to a British nurse while he was a father and married to wife Simone.
After a series of high-profile romps, he tried to get back with Simone but accidentally sent her a saucy text which was meant for a different woman.
In 2006, Warne, then 36, was playing a county cricket game in England when he was sent a text inviting him to meet with 25-year-old Coralie Eichholtz and her friend Emma Kearney, 25.
Pictures of their tryst were published in the media – featuring Warne wearing Playboy underwear.
It was the latest in a series of sex scandals for the cricketer; earlier that year he raised eyebrows by flirting with 21-year-old Love Island contestant Lucie Donlan on Instagram, who is younger than his eldest daughter.
In 2000, he lost the Australia vice-captaincy for sending erotic texts to a British nurse while he was a father and married to wife Simone.
After a series of high-profile romps, he tried to get back with Simone but accidentally sent her a saucy text which was meant for a different woman.
In 2006, Warne, then 36, was playing a county cricket game in England when he was sent a text inviting him to meet with 25-year-old Coralie Eichholtz and her friend Emma Kearney, 25.
Pictures of their tryst were published in the media – featuring Warne wearing Playboy underwear.
‘I’m not a criminal… yes, I’m into women, which has cost me massively, time after time,’ Warne wrote in his book No Spin.
‘To me, only a pretty sad mind goes undercover to make a few bucks out of a friend and a guy she’s never met before. Either that or Coralie was lying and she set the whole thing up. Then it’s even worse.’
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk