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Michael Clarke's Focus On Sport And Daughter Before Split

The Australian cricketer has been dedicated to his career and parenting in the lead up to the announcement of his split from wife of seven years, Kyly.

Australian cricketer Michael Clarke’s focus has been on sport and family in the lead up to the announcement of his split from wife of seven years, Kyly.

The celebrity couple is believed to have been living apart for the past five months while co-parenting daughter Kelsey Lee. In a recent interview, Michael spoke of his dedication to teaching the four-year-old what’s “right and wrong”, while immersing himself into training on a daily basis.

“Sport is my life. It still is, I train every day because I love that feeling,
the 38-year-old HuffPost Australia back in December at the ‘Hublot Loves Summer’ event in Sydney.

Michael retired from playing professional cricket in 2015 but has continued commentating on national sport.

“I still watch all sport on television. My daughter’s into tennis at the moment so I take her to tennis every Monday.”

Australian cricketer Michael Clarke’s focus has been on sport and family in the lead up to the announcement of his split from wife of seven years, Kyly.
Wendell Teodoro via Getty Images
Australian cricketer Michael Clarke’s focus has been on sport and family in the lead up to the announcement of his split from wife of seven years, Kyly.

He said posting responsibly on social media is something he strives to teach his daughter about.

“Social media is part of her life,” he said. “My little girl knows the password to my phone or the password to the iPad to watch Peppa Pig. I’m amazed at how smart they are.

“My approach as a father is to be completely open and honest and show her. Don’t hide it, show her. Let her see, let her understand and then try and help guide her through right and wrong.”

The sports star acknowledged his parents’ influence on him growing up, and how that has shaped his own parenting style.

“That’s one of the things I’m most proud of about my mum and dad, they taught me the difference between right and wrong,” he explained.

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t make mistakes, doesn’t mean I didn’t do wrong plenty of times... [I’m] still doing wrong,” he admitted. “But they showed me and they told me, ‘You know, that is right, that is wrong. You make your decision, what you want to do.’”

On Wednesday evening Michael and Kyly issued a joint statement to The Australian, saying it was a “difficult decision to separate as a couple, amicably” after getting married in 2012.

“With the greatest of respect for each other, we’ve come to the ­mutual conclusion that this is the best course for us to take while committed to the co-parenting of our daughter,” the statement said.

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