Cricket legend Shane Warne, who passed away yesterday (March 4th, 2022) after a suspected heart attack at age 52, was once caught up in a surprising storyline on reality series The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
Though his love life was one that was consistently catapulted into the spotlight, the most shocking accusations came back in 2016 when he was accused of enjoying a secret affair with married Real Housewives of Melbourne cast member, Lydia Schiavello.
Lydia was forced to deny on a number of occasions that she was romantically involved with Warne behind the back of her husband Andrew Norbury, describing the rumours as "crap" and pointing out that the two had simply become close friends due to her time as an ambassador for the now defunct Shane Warne Foundation.
It came after fellow housewife Jackie Gillies said on the show, that the two were left in a room along, as she and her husband Ben Gilles felt uncomfortable as they were 'asked to lie for her'.
Mother-of-three Lydia responded at the time, saying that Jackie was "making s**t and [she's] trying to destroy my family."
Nothing ever came of the rumours, but we know how the press has a field day whenever any famous figures get close, even if they are just friendly. You would think that in recent years, we would all have moved past a point of screaming "AFFAIR!" when we see a man and woman simply getting along. Unfortunately, that's not really the case.
Warne even got involved in the drama himself, taking to his Twitter account to clear everything up and declare that he wasn't dating the reality star.
"Shane is naughty," Lydia tweeted, "BUT he doesn't lie".
Warne was no stranger to reality TV, having signed up for the Australian version of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2016.
He missed the finale by just a few days, voted out of the South African jungle in fifth place after taking place in seven Tucker Trials - one of which resulted in him being bitten on the head by an anaconda.
The cricket legend also served as the Camp Leader after his entry on Day 2, enjoying the luxuries that came with it for his first two weeks taking part.
Before that, Warne would appear as himself in two episodes of the now-axed Australian soap Neighbours, back in 2006, as well as making an appearance as 'Wayne' in much-loved Aussie comedy series, Kath & Kim.
Earlier this year, a documentary - aptly-titled Shane - was released, allowing the cricket star to tell his story in his own words, in a 90-minute feature that also looked at his personal and private life.
Warne is survived by his three children Brooke, Summer and Jackson.
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