Australia’s sporting world is in shock after Cathy Freeman and her husband James Murch announced their separation after 15 years of marriage.
The 51-year-old Olympic gold medalist has had several high-profile relationships throughout her celebrated career, including with a high-profile Hollywood movie star and her former coach.
Below, Daily Mail Australia takes a look back at the legendary Australian sportsman’s most famous romances.
Nic Bideau
In the 1990s, Freeman had a long-term relationship with her athletics coach and manager Nic Bideau, whom she once called her “Prince Charming.”
Their relationship broke down after she won her first world title in the 400 m in 1997.
However, she kept him as her manager – which reportedly led to tensions with her next boyfriend and later husband, Alexander Bodecker.
As a coach, Bideau helped Cathy achieve her greatest success, winning the gold medal in the 400 m at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. After the competition, the two celebrated their extraordinary performance.
In the 1990s, Freeman had a long-term relationship with her athletics coach and manager Nic Bideau (right). Nic helped Cathy win the 400m gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and passionately celebrated the victory with her.
Alexander ‘Sandy’ Bodecker
Freeman’s first marriage was in 1999 to Nike manager Alexander “Sandy” Bodecker, who was two decades her senior.
Their four-year marriage had its ups and downs, and Cathy famously took a six-month break from sports to help Sandy recover from throat cancer in 2002.
In February 2003, the couple confirmed their divorce – and Freeman made a surprising confession in her memoirs “Born to Run”: she had been cheating on him for the last few days.
Freeman’s first marriage, in 1999, was to Nike executive Alexander “Sandy” Bodecker (left), who is twenty years her senior. Their four-year marriage had ups and downs, and Cathy took a six-month break from the sport to help Sandy recover from throat cancer in 2002.
Joel Edgerton
The Mackay-born athlete began a relationship with Australian-born Hollywood star Joel Edgerton in 2003 after meeting him at the Logie Awards the previous year.
At the time, Edgerton was starring in the Australian drama The Secret Life of Us and the couple became known for attending various red carpet events together.
In her memoir, Freeman revealed that she had an affair with Edgerton during her marriage to Bodecker.
The former 400-meter runner recalled the moment when she told her now ex Bodecker that she was “dating someone.”
“Lighting the fire at the Sydney Games was child’s play compared to the fear that pulsed through my veins as I listened to Alexander,” she wrote.
“I’m meeting with someone. It’s Joel Edgerton,” Freeman wrote about her conversation with Bodecker.
They confirmed their split in 2005 and Edgerton later told SBS that their relationship didn’t work out due to their incompatible lifestyles.
“She didn’t like the stuff that came with being a public figure and preferred not to be pushed into the spotlight,” Joel said.
The Olympic gold medalist has had several high-profile relationships throughout her career, including with an A-list Hollywood star and her former coach. The Mackay-born athlete began dating Australian-born Hollywood star Joel Edgerton (right) in 2003.
James Murch
Cathy’s last relationship was with her second husband James Murch, whom she married in 2009 on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria.
The couple is parents of a 13-year-old daughter, Ruby.
On Friday, they released a joint statement announcing that they are separating and will continue to raise their daughter together.
“After 15 years of marriage, we have unfortunately separated. We continue to care for the children together and that is our highest priority,” she said in her statement.
“We continue to maintain a professional and functioning partnership through Estrella Sports Management.”
Australia’s sporting world is in shock after it was revealed on Friday that Cathy Freeman and her husband James Murch have announced their separation after 15 years of marriage. Both pictured
“As this is a personal matter, we would be very grateful if you would respect our privacy. We will not make any further comment.”
Freeman made a name for herself when, at the age of 16, she became the first Indigenous Australian to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
From there, she won two more gold medals at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games.
At the 1997 and 1999 World Championships, she took first place in the 400-meter race.
In 2000, the Australian Aboriginal athlete thrilled an entire nation when she lit the symbolic Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sydney.
She won the women’s 400-meter race in 49.11 seconds before the eyes of the nation.
Freeman retired from sport in 2003 and later founded her own charity that helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in remote communities.
In 2000, the Australian aboriginal woman thrilled a nation when she lit the iconic Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. During the games, she won the women’s 400-meter race in a time of 49.11 seconds.
