Shane ends marriage again

Australian spin bowler Shane Warne yesterday confirmed he had split from his wife, amid reports of an alleged affair with British actress Elizabeth Hurley.

Warne and his former wife Simone Callahan, with whom he has three children, divorced a number of years ago but had rekindled their romance and shared a home in his home town of Melbourne.

But after the publication of videos and photographs of Warne and Hurley apparently kissing and cuddling together in London last week, Warne, 41, was forced to issue a statement.

"Sadly and unfortunately, Simone and I split up a while ago, our close friends and family were informed at that time," he said in a statement on his website.

"It is a private matter so we did not make it public. We remain friends and will continue to be good parents."

Warne's comments follow those of Hurley, who announced via Twitter on Sunday that she had recently split with her businessman husband of three years Arun Nayar.

"For the record, my husband Arun and I separated a few months ago," she said. "Our close family and friends were aware of this."

But British tabloid The Sun reported a source close to Nayar's family saying he was "devastated" at the way the news of their split was broken.

Nayar and Hurley married in a series of lavish weddings in 2007, but rumours soon began that he was becoming increasingly bored of his wife's "champagne and canape" lifestyle on the London society circuit.

Rumours of a split have been rife for months, with Nayar spending a lot of time on overseas business trips or at his family's home in Mumbai, India, The Sun reported.

After the news broke of her affair with Warne, Hurley was at home in London with her son Damien, 8. Nayar was later seen at their farm in the trendy Cotswolds.

The family source told The Sun that he was "hugely embarrassed and upset" by the scandal surrounding his estranged wife's affair.

The source, from Mumbai, told the newspaper: "This will be devastating for him. The family had no idea their relationship was over. It's very shameful in India and the family will all be deeply shocked."

It is not the first time Warne's romantic flings have made news. Previous affairs cost Warne his marriage and the vice-captaincy of the Australia Test side in 2000.

Warne reportedly met Hurley at an English race meeting in July and last month he announced he would interview her on his new Australian TV chat show, called Warnie.