Footy fans were given a touching reminder of Damien Hardwick’s headline-making love life when he thanked his family – and his new partner – during his bombshell resignation announcement on Tuesday morning.
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After explaining why he’s leaving Richmond, the iconic coach went on to praise his family and ex-wife Danielle as well as girlfriend Alexandra Crow – who was spotted beaming at him from the front row – for their support after he took over as Tigers boss in 2010.
‘To Danielle and the kids, I’m forever grateful for what you’ve given me, the support you’ve given me,’ Hardwick said.
‘And Alex, thanks for the new journey, and obviously your support over the last couple of months has been phenomenal.’
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Teary-eyed Richmond coach Damien Hardwick thanked his family – and new partner – after confirming on Tuesday he is leaving the AFL club effective immediately
Hardwick’s girlfriend Alexandra Crow (pictured right, in green) – was spotted beaming at her partner at the announcement
Damien Hardwick and his ex-wife Danielle have three children together – Isabelle, Imogen and Ben – after 25 years of marriage
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Hardwick reportedly met Ms Crow while she was working for Richmond’s commercial sales team in 2020.
They officially became a couple when Hardwick left Danielle, his wife of 25 years and mother of his children, in December that year.
Crow and the ex-coach were first spotted together in January 2021.
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Once Hardwick and Danielle’s split became official, she took aim at her ex, calling him and the AFL ‘selfish’.
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‘It is an old school environment, there is not really any way around it,’ she said.
‘Everyone is trying to evolve and that is wonderful, but it is male dominated and the life of a footballer and the life of a coach, for want of a better word, can become a very selfish existence.
‘Because it is a demanding role and you are watching over the welfare of many, many young men so it does feel very important.’
She also opted to kept her surname before revealing the impact the break-up had on their children.
Danielle opted to keep her former husband’s surname when their relationship fell apart (pictured together in 2017) and branded him and the AFL ‘selfish’
Hardwick and Crow (pictured in September 2021) reportedly met when she was employed by Richmond in 2020
‘I am Ms Hardwick now, I am not Mrs Hardwick anymore,’ she said, explaining the surname was her identity and she wanted to keep it to turn a negative into a positive.
‘I am doing my best to remain dignified, so how I am feeling is still a lot of mixed emotions for sure. There has been a serious grief process for myself and my gorgeous adult children and the grief is real.
‘I guess when you plan a life with your best friend, your partner who you’ve spent your whole adult life with… there’s a definite loss when that’s not there anymore. So I’m on my way to being, well, OK, for sure.
‘There’s certainly been every raw emotion that comes with this situation, but we all have a choice about how we will respond to these and I wanted to respond with dignity and respect my children.’
The ex-Tigers coach and Crow bought a $2.3million terrace house in inner Melbourne (pictured) in June 2021 in a sure sign of how serious their relationship is
The seriousness of the ex-Essendon and Port Power player’s relationship with Crow was underlined in June 2021, when they paid $2.3million for a terrace house in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Elwood.
They started to renovate the property and even started an Instagram page to keep their followers updated on how the transformation was going.
‘The short term plan is to give her a spruce up both internally and externally and utilise her flexibility. Long term plan…convert her back to one, honouring her heritage and original features whilst moulding her modern,’ they wrote.
In February last year Hardwick opened up about the trying 12 months he’d just experienced.
‘My personal life is my personal life and that was a challenge dealing with it, not so much for me but for Danielle and the kids,’ he said.
‘It was a challenge at times but you just try to ride the punches as best you can.’
Crow was previously in a relationship with Carlton Football Club executive Daniel Giese, with whom she owned a $1.2 million home in Ascot Vale.
