London, December 13
British actress Elizabeth Hurley has confirmed that she ended her marriage with Indian businessman Arun Nayar “months ago” amid allegations that she cheated on him with Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

Her affair with Warne came to light after they were photographed kissing and embracing by a tabloid. “Not a great day. For the record, my husband Arun & I separated a few months ago. Our close family & friends were aware of this (sic),” Hurley wrote on her twitter page without making any reference to her affair with Warne.

The News of the World claimed to have a video and pictures of Hurley, 45 and Warne, 41, sharing a series of steamy clinches and claimed Hurley had spent two nights with the cricketer, who is infamous for his womanising ways.

Hurley, who has eight-year-old son Damion from a previous relationship, wed Nayar in an extravagant ceremony in India in 2007 and sold the pictures to magazines for millions.

From the onset their marriage faced trouble. There were rumours last year that their marriage was in trouble which was denied by Hurley as she kept pretending that all was well in their three-year marriage with several public appearances together. Hurley and Nayar, an Oxford graduate, met in 2002.

Nayar struggled to divorce his first wife Italian model Valentina Pedroni, who accused the actress of “stealing” her husband, the Daily Mail reported. Hurley is still very close to her former boyfriend, actor Hugh Grant. They were one of the leading celebrity couples but ended their romance after Grant was arrested in 1995 with a prostitute.

Meanwhile, Warne today confirmed he had split from his ex-wife, amid reports of an alleged “affair” with Hurley. Warne and his former wife Simone Callahan, who have three children together, divorced some time ago but had rekindled their romance and shared a home together in his home town of Melbourne. But after video and photographs of Warne and Hurley apparently kissing and cuddling together in London last week were published, the 41-year-old was forced to issue a statement on his relationship.

“Sadly and unfortunately, Simone and I split up a while ago, our close friends and family were informed at that time,” Warne 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.”

Social media sites have been swamped with comments about Warne’s alleged fling, temporarily drowning out calls for his return to the Test squad as Australia struggle in the Ashes series against England.

The former Australian Test cricketer refused to speak to the media after arriving back in Melbourne from England today. It is not the first time Warne’s romantic flings have made news; previous affairs cost Warne not only his marriage but 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 television chat show, called Warnie, which coincides with the Ashes series.

While gossip mills are abuzz with news of the new romance, their former spouses have refused to comment on the issue. According to the Daily Mail, Nayar, 46, was spotted looking unhappy as he puffed a cigarette outside the couple’s country home in Gloucestershire. Warne’s ex-wife Simone said, “I don’t want to talk right now, thank you.” — PTI