Cathy Freeman and her husband James Murch have announced their shock split after 15 years of marriage.
The Australian Olympic gold medallist, 51, and her husband, 49, released a joint statement on Friday with the news that they were parting ways and will continue co-parenting their 13-year-old daughter Ruby.
‘After 15 years of marriage we have unfortunately separated. We continue co-parenting and this is our greatest priority,’ the statement reads, per the Herald Sun.
‘We continue sharing a professional and working partnership through Estrella Sports Management.
‘Given this is a personal matter we would greatly appreciate you respecting our privacy and we won’t be making any further comment.’
During her time in the spotlight, the notoriously private sports star previously made headlines about her love life.
She was in a long-term relationship with her athletics roach Nic Bideau, who helped coach her to gold at the 2000 Olympics after their relationship ended.
Freeman was married to her first husband, Alexander ‘Sandy’ Bodecker, from 1999 to 2003.
Cathy Freeman and her husband James Murch have announced their shock split after 15 years of marriage. Pictured together in 2014
She went on to date Australian actor Joel Edgerton before they split in 2005, and married her second husband, James Murch, in 2009.
They welcomed a daughter, Ruby, in 2011.
In her memoir, Freeman revealed the bombshell news that she’d had an affair with Edgerton during her marriage with Bodecker.
The 400m former runner recalled the moment she told her now-ex Bodecker she was ‘seeing someone’.
The Australian Olympic gold medallist, 51, and her husband, 49, released a joint statement on Friday with the news that they were parting ways and will continue co-parenting their 13-year-old daughter Ruby. Pictured together in 2015
In 2000, the Indigenous Australian athlete captivated a nation as she lit the iconic Olympic cauldron at the Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony. She went on to win the women’s 400-metre race in a time of 49.11 seconds during the Games
‘Lighting the cauldron at the Sydney Games was a breeze compared with the anxiety that was pulsing through my veins as I listened to Alexander talk,’ she wrote.
‘I’m seeing someone,’ Freeman wrote of her conversation with Bodecker.
‘It’s Joel Edgerton.’
Freeman made a name for herself when she became the first Australian Indigenous person to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games at age 16.
From there, she won two more gold medals at the Commonwealth games in 1994 and a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics.
She came first at the World Championships in 1997 in the 400m event and again in 1999.
In 2000, the Indigenous Australian athlete captivated a nation as she lit the iconic Olympic cauldron at the Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony.
She went on to win the women’s 400-metre race in a time of 49.11 seconds during the Games.
After an incredible performance at the Sydney Olympics, she eventually called time on her sporting career in 2003.
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