Tim Paine’s wife Bonnie says the sexting scandal has been ‘good for their marriage’ even though she was ‘completely rocked’ his betrayal – and she admits she feels sympathetic toward him at having to stand down as Australia’s test cricket captain.
The married father-of-two was discreetly investigated and cleared of wrongdoing by Cricket Australia in 2018, when he confessed to Bonnie that he had exchanged sexting messages over the course of 18 hours with a female employee of Cricket Tasmania.
In an interview published on Sunday, Bonnie said she’d already ‘had her time’ of ‘getting angry, venting and getting upset’ but decided back in 2018 put the incident behind them – and that in doing so, their marriage was stronger than ever.
‘I have a bit of sympathy for Tim at the moment. A lot actually. He and I went through all of this privately in 2018. It was horrific then and is really hard now,’ she told The Daily Telegraph.
Tim Paine’s ’embarrassed’ wife feels ‘sympathetic’ for the former captain of Australian cricket after lewd text messages he sent to a colleague were made public – as she insists their marriage is stronger than ever
Australia test cricket captain Tim Paine, 36, sent a series of raunchy text to a female Cricket Tasmania colleague
Paine, 36, sent a photo of his penis to a female co-worker along with a stream of lewd text messages, many of which are too raunchy to publish.
The messages were sent shortly before Paine was appointed to the Australian captaincy.
‘Will you want to taste my d**?? F**k me, I’m seriously hard,’ one of the messages read.
Weirdly, this mess actually helped our relationship
The embarrassing sexts have been hanging over the couple’s heads since a complaint was made by the other party in mid-2018.
Paine revealed he knew media agencies had received copies of the exchange and he’d been questioned over the matter for ‘years’ before they were finally made public early on Friday afternoon.
The timing of the matter has left Bonnie feeling frustrated more than anything at the ‘injustice’ of having their private struggles dragged out all over again.
Tim Paine’s wife Bonnie (pictured) forgave her husband after he confessed to the texts when a complaint was filed in mid-2018. Up until that point, he hadn’t told her about the late 2017 exchange
Bonnie revealed at the time of the sexting saga, she and Paine had reached a stressful point in their relationship. They’d recently had their daughter, Milla, were already pregnant with their son Charlie and her father had recently died
‘We put it to bed years ago… I remember feeling angry because we had a little girl who wasn’t too old… Tim and I had been in a long relationship, it’d been 10 years and God knows we had out ups and downs… but I was still completely rocked,’ she said.
At the time of the sexting saga, Bonnie and Paine had reached a stressful point in their relationship. They’d recently had their daughter, Milla, were already pregnant with their son Charlie and her father had recently died.
It was a time, Bonnie says, that would have been tough even if they were on completely solid ground.
She has ‘huge admiration’ for the way Paine handled the incident, confessing to the messages the day he learned a complaint had been filed – which was still months after the incident occurred on November 22 and 23, 2017, the eve and morning of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.
‘You telling me was a huge progression for us. You kept everything so secretive prior to that,’ she told Paine during the interview. ‘Weirdly, this mess has actually helped our relationship.’
The embarrassing sexts have been hanging over the couple’s heads since a complaint was made by the other party in mid-2018
Paine understands he’ll be the subject of scrutiny moving forward, and worries about what his peers and fans will think of him.
He’s opted to ‘go into hiding for a little bit’ as he plans his next move, but has vowed he’ll be ready for the Ashes series next month.
While he won’t be captaining his side, Paine says he has a lot to bring to the team and hopes to still contribute to a series win.
But former great Shane Warne said on Sunday that Paine’s time in the test team was now past and he was unlikely to be a contender for a place in the Ashes team.
Warne said Paine was ‘on shaky ground’ even before news of the sexting scandal broke on Friday after an underwhelming performance in the most recent series.
‘There was a groundswell of people starting to ask if Tim Paine was in fact the best option for the Test team,’ he said.
‘He had his moments during recent series — especially last summer against India — which left us all questioning his tactical nous and his actual playing role… It seemed that maybe his time was up.
‘His own performances with the gloves and bat weren’t great, we have Matthew Wade, Alex Carey and Josh Inglis as more aggressive and better batting options at number seven. Plus the team wasn’t winning.’
Bonnie has vowed to continue to stand by her man and was disappointed the texts were made public
Paine announced his resignation as captain in a statement on Friday afternoon and held a press conference and 2.30pm on Friday where he tearfully apologised.
‘It’s an incredibly difficult decision, but the right one for me, my family, and cricket,’ he said.
The woman at the centre of the scandal was a Cricket Tasmania employee whom Paine knew from playing state cricket, the Herald Sun reports.
She sent a letter of complaint to Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania in 2018 – sparking an investigation – and she also wrote to the Australian Human Rights Commission about the texts.
The woman said she was offended by ‘Mr Paine’s sexually explicit, unwelcome and unsolicited’ picture of his genitals and his ‘graphic sexual comments’.
Cricket Tasmania released a statement on Friday claiming the complaint came about only after the woman learned she was being investigated for stealing from the organisation.
Charges have been laid and the matter remains before the courts.
The ‘unsolicited d*** pic’ was sent as Paine prepared to take to the field with the Australian team after seven years of being overlooked for the side.
He had been pondering a premature retirement after being blindsided by his non-selection.
Paine was brought it as the saviour of Australian cricket after captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were suspended, along with opener Cameron Bancroft
Cricket Australia is understood to have become aware of the message shortly after Paine was appointed to captain the Australian side – itself coming after another scandal when Steve Smith was forced to stand down following a ball-tampering incident while on tour in South Africa.
Speaking on Friday, Paine said he didn’t want the scandal to disrupt the team.
‘I believe that it is the right decision for me to stand down as captain, effective immediately. I do not want this to become an unwelcome disruption to the team ahead of what is a huge Ashes series.
‘I have loved my role…’ he said, his voice cracking as he wiped away a tear, ‘as captain of the Australian cricket team.
‘It’s been the greatest privilege of my sporting life to lead the Australian men’s test team. I’m grateful for the support of my teammates and proud of what we’ve been able to achieve together.
‘To them, I ask for their understanding and forgiveness. To Australian cricket fans – deeply sorry that my past behaviour has impacted our game on the eve of the Ashes.
‘For the disappointment I have caused to fans and the entire cricket community, I apologise. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful, loving and supportive family, and it breaks my heart to know how much I’ve let them down.
‘They have always stood by me, been my most loyal fans, and I’m indebted to them for their support.’
Paine was brought in as the saviour of Australian cricket after captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were suspended, along with opener Cameron Bancroft.
The trio was caught on camera using concealed sandpaper to rough up the ball during the tour of South Africa.
Paine said at his press conference that he was exonerated by these investigations, which found he did not breach the code of conduct.
‘Although exonerated, I deeply regretted this incident at the time, and still do today,’ he said on Friday.
‘We thought this incident was behind us and that I could focus entirely on the team, as I have done for the last three or four years.
‘On reflection, my actions in 2017 do not meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain, or the wider community.
‘I’m deeply sorry for the hurt and pain that I have caused to my wife, my family, and to the other party. I’m sorry for any damage that this does to the reputation of our sport,’ he said.
Paine announced his resignation in a statement on Friday afternoon and held a press conference and 2.30pm on Friday where he tearfully apologised
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