When legendary Aussie cricketer Shane Warne died suddenly from a heart attack on March 4, 2022, the world was in mourning, none more so than his loved ones.
As Australia woke up to the news that the ‘King of Spin’ had passed away while holidaying on the island of Ko Samui in Thailand, his ex-partner of almost a decade Liz Hurley initially didn’t believe that her beloved ‘lionheart’ was indeed no longer of this earth.
WATCH NOW: Shane Warne says being with Elizabeth Hurley was the happiest time in his life.
“Losing Shane was terrible. It’s taken a long time to sink in. I honestly kept thinking he’d call and it would turn out to be some big Aussie joke,” the actress and model shared with The Times in December 2022.
“It was very hard and it still is very hard,” she sadly lamented.
Prior to that, Liz had taken to her social media accounts to mourn the sporting great, writing that she felt “like the sun has gone behind a cloud forever. RIP my beloved Lionheart,” she penned two days after his passing.
In her most recent interview with The Telegraph in April 2024, the mother-of-one made the sad admission that the pain of his passing had never left her.
“It was appalling losing Shane; it was a terrible thing. And it’s a sadness, you know, that stays with you a long time.”
As the world continues to mourn his incredible life, we are looking back at Shane and Liz’s whirlwind romance…
How did Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley meet?
It was a chance encounter at the Royal Ascot Racecourse in July 2010 that brought this unlikely pair together, their romance becoming public after photos of them kissing in London were released by the press.
Unabashedly in love with one another, the high-profile couple had no qualms about showing PDA, especially when it came to their flirty exchanges on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Take this tweet from Liz for example: “Oooh … you’re such a caveman. My beautiful baby spaniel is undoubtedly better behaved than you.”
And Shane responded, “Excuse me Elizabeth I’m a very well-behaved gentleman! Caveman?? What does that mean? We have TV here in Australia! Hahaha.”
Why did Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley break up?
From there, their relationship continued to move at a rapid pace, with Shane proposing “on impulse” while enjoying a romantic yacht holiday in the Mediterranean.
Sadly however in 2013, they made the amicable decision to split and cancelled the wedding.
While one can imagine this would cause some animosity between the exes, the pair remained on good terms until Shane’s untimely death nine years later.
In an interview with The Mirror in 2020, Shane shared that his relationship with Liz had simply run its course, describing the years they spent together as “the happiest of [my] life.”
“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.”
His look-alike son Jackson, 24, later confirmed they “still kept in touch,” sharing, “Whether it’d be commenting on Instagram or messaging or congratulating, they’re super supportive.”
The high praise for his ex-girlfriend continued when Shane revealed in his show A Week With Warnie that he still cares “deeply” about Liz, whom he described as “a wonderful person.”
The heartbreaking confirmation of Shane’s death was first confirmed via a statement from his manager James Erskine.
“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” it read.
“The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”
A state memorial was held on the grounds of the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 30, 2022, and was attended by approximately 55,000 members of the public. A further 1.5 million Australians tuned into the proceedings from home.
Liz opted not to attend or send a video tribute, sharing that she was “too emotional to encapsulate her feelings into a 30-second clip.”
