Danielle Hardwick has made a sad statement about her ex-husband Damien’s explosive decision to step down as Richmond coach after being a notable absentee from his emotional resignation announcement on Tuesday.
The children she shares with the former Tigers boss sat front row with his new love interest, former Richmond employee Alexandra Crow, who was seen beaming as he thanked her, her ex and her family.
“Tough 48 hours,” Danielle told the sun herald.
‘A life dedicated to D [Damien] and football. It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
Hardwick made a special mention of his family as he struggled to hold back tears on Tuesday.
Danielle Hardwick (pictured with Damien at the Brownlow medal ceremony) has made a sad claim about her ex’s explosive decision to leave the club he won three flags with.
While a notable absentee from Hardwick’s resignation announcement on Tuesday, his new flame Alexandra Crow (right, in a green jacket) smiled at her from the front row, along with the children he shares with Danielle
“To Danielle and the children, I will be forever grateful for what you have given me, for the support you have given me,” he said.
“And Alex, thank you for the new journey, and obviously your support over the past two months has been phenomenal.”
Hardwick is said to have met Ms Crow while 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 of the same year.
Crow and the ex-coach were first spotted together in January 2021.
The seriousness of the former Tigers manager’s relationship with Crow was underscored when they bought a $2.3million terraced house in Melbourne’s inner suburb of Elwood in June 2021.
Danielle said she and her children faced a ‘serious grieving process’ at the end of her 25-year relationship with Damien
Her split with Danielle is said to have caused tension at the club, where she was highly regarded.
Once Hardwick and Danielle’s split became official, she took aim at her ex, calling him and the AFL “selfish.”
“It’s an old school environment, there’s really no way around it,” she said.
“Everyone is trying to evolve and that’s wonderful, but it’s male dominated and the life of a footballer and the life of a coach, for lack of a better word, can become a very selfish existence. .
“Because it’s a demanding role and you look after the well-being of a lot of young men, so that seems very important.”
She also opted to keep her last name before revealing the impact of the split on their children.
“I’m Mrs. Hardwick now, I’m not Mrs. Hardwick anymore,” she said, explaining that the surname was her identity and that she wanted to keep it to turn a negative into a positive.
“I’m doing my best to stay dignified, so what I’m feeling is still a lot of mixed emotions for sure. There has been a serious grieving process for me and my beautiful adult children and the grief is real.
“I guess when you plan a life with your best friend, your partner that you’ve spent your entire adult life with… there’s a definite loss when it’s not there anymore. So I’m about to be, well, OK, for sure.
“There have certainly been all the raw emotions that come with this situation, but we all have a choice in how we respond and I wanted to respond with dignity and respect to my children.”
Hardwick couldn’t contain his emotions as he thanked his family and Crow as he faced the media for the first time since his decision to quit became public knowledge.
The seriousness of the former Essendon and Port Power player’s relationship with Crow was underscored in June 2021, when they paid $2.3million for a terraced house in the suburb of Elwood, in Melbourne city centre.
They started renovating the property and even launched an Instagram page to keep their followers updated on the progress of the transformation.
“The short-term plan is to give him a facelift both internally and externally and use his flexibility. Long term plan…turn it back into one, honoring its heritage and original features while shaping it modern,” they wrote.
In February last year, Hardwick opened up about the difficult 12 months he had just had.
“My personal life is my personal life and it was a challenge to manage it, not so much for me as it was for Danielle and the kids,” he said.
“It was a challenge at times, but you just try to overcome the blows as best you can.”
