Highs and lows of Michael Clarke’s marriage to Kyly Boldy, including the moment she rejected him

Michael Clarke and Kyly Boldy projected the image of a glamorous power couple destined for happiness, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

Michael Clarke and Kyly Boldy first met as kids but it wasn’t until they were well out of school the pair finally got together to form one of Australia’s most glamorous and high-profile couples.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and the former Australian cricket captain and ex-model Boldy, who have four-year-old daughter Kelsey Lee together, confirmed they are divorcing after seven years of marriage, The Australian reported.

RELATED: Clarke’s worst fear confirmed

RELATED: Clue we missed in $40m Clarke split

Clarke’s love life has often been the focus of intense media scrutiny and while a rocky split with model Lara Bingle (now Lara Worthington) dominated headlines, it seemed the cricket legend’s search for love was officially over when he married Boldy in 2012.

The pair’s Instagram-worthy lifestyle often seemed perfect but it hasn’t been without its challenges.

KYLY REJECTED CLARKE’S BUMBLED PICK-UP ATTEMPT

Michael and Kyly always seemed so happy together.

Clarke’s engagement to Bingle fell through in 2010 and the batsman flew home from a tour of New Zealand to deal with his relationship breakdown.

Reports of an engagement ring flushed down the toilet — later rubbished by Clarke — and the pursuit of the paparazzi ensured their troubles dominated the news cycle. But Clarke could have avoided that whole drama had he pulled the trigger with Boldy when he had the chance.

The two went to Westfield Sports High School in Sydney’s west together but it wasn’t until 2007 — the year before Clarke proposed to Bingle — when the Aussie star took his shot.

Writing about a chance encounter with Boldy in his 2016 book Michael Clarke: My Story, the 115-Test veteran said: “In 2007, before I began dating Lara, I introduced myself to Kyly at a bar in Cronulla. We reconnected over a drink, and as we left, I sent my best mate Steve Phillips to ask for her number.

“She declined, saying I could come and ask myself. Now I was so embarrassed, I decided to leave it to chance, hoping we would bump into each other at another stage.”

FATE COMES CALLING AS LOVE BLOSSOMS

Fortunately for Clarke, fate came to his rescue three years later. After his and Bingle’s relationship ended, Kyly reached out to him on Twitter when he was on tour in the West Indies and the pair started dating soon after.

They married in 2012, managing to keep their Blue Mountains ceremony secret from the media until they confirmed they had wed in May, posting several photos of the occasion online accompanied by gushing tweets.

“Happiest guy in the world. Married Kyly Boldy yesterday in front of our gorgeous families. Couldn’t be happier!” Clarke tweeted.

Boldy added: “Luckiest Woman in the world! Married MClarke23 on the 15th of May 2012. Greatest day of my life, so proud to be your Wife.”

It was reported the small ceremony featured close friends and family but none of Clarke’s teammates at that time, while staff at the Wolgan Valley Resort were allegedly required to sign confidentiality agreements to prevent news of the nuptials being leaked.

Clarke and Boldy were one of Australian sport’s most glamorous couples.

KYLY ON HAND FOR CLARKE’S TOUGHEST TIMES

Life together seemed sweet for the photogenic couple, but there were tough times during their relationship in which the pair needed to lean on each other for support.

The Daily Telegraph reported in 2011 Clarke’s sister Leanne was rushed to hospital for the emergency delivery of her son Byron and in 2014 her daughter Chaya was born 10 weeks premature. Clarke’s niece spent time in intensive care and needed respiratory support because she couldn’t breathe on her own.

“At this stage, Kyly and I don’t have any kids of our own, but they feel like my kids,” Clarke said of his nephew and niece at a charity event in 2014. “I’m so close to them that it feels no different.”

In 2011 Clarke’s mother Debbie suffered a brain haemorrhage and his father Les has fought prostate cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Clarke’s grandmother died not long before his 2012 wedding but through all the health scares, Kyly was by his side and the pair’s relationship went from strength to strength.

BOLDY STANDS BY HER MAN AS CRITICS COME OUT

Boldy hugs Clarke after his last Test match.

The first of a new generation of Australian cricketers, Clarke divided the nation like no other captain before him.

Peroxide blond hair, diamond earrings, tattoos and model girlfriends meant critics were always on hand to have their say, no matter what his on-field exploits.

His batting went to Bradmanesque levels during a particularly fruitful period in 2011-2012, but there was always the perception Clarke the person wasn’t nearly as impressive as Clarke the batsman.

Reported dust-ups with teammates Andrew Symonds, Simon Katich and Shane Watson did nothing to help Clarke’s reputation.

But none of that compared to the trauma of Clarke losing his “little brother”, Australian star Phil Hughes, in 2014 when the left-hander was struck on the neck and killed by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG.

Kyly supported her husband during that horrible period of his life, which she said changed him forever.

“I guess he lost that best friend that he went on tour with and I personally saw a change in him after that happened,” Boldy told 60 Minutes. “Once Michael went back on tour, I don’t think he was ever the same.”

Boldy was also by Clarke’s side when he made the emotional decision to retire from international cricket at the end of the 2015 Ashes series in England.

Before Clarke’s final tour, Boldy told The Daily Mail: “I really just enjoy spending time with him because he does have such a busy schedule and so do I at times. It’s time you really want with you partner.”

TERRIFYING MOMENT DAUGHTER RUSHED TO HOSPITAL

Michael and Kyly Clarke with their daughter Kelsey

In 2015, Clarke and Boldy welcomed their daughter Kelsey Lee into the world, taking to social media to announce the arrival of their “little angel”.

But a terrifying visit to the emergency room when she suffered a serious asthma attack scared both parents.

“All I could see, hear and feel was that she was having trouble breathing,” Clarke told A Current Affair last year.

“I think you (Kyly) rang the ambulance and in the meantime I said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to wait for the ambulance, get in the car’.”

Boldy added: “We were really shocked. Obviously we weren’t confident parents because she’s our firstborn. She’s only young.

“We just looked at each other and thought best case scenario is to rush her to the hospital … she just couldn’t breathe properly.”

Clarke and Boldy have managed Kelsey Lee’s asthma since then but the pair have suffered health scares themselves. Last year Clarke revealed he had “another skin cancer cut out of my face” and Boldy has been vigilant on getting her skin checked, sparked in part by her grandmother dying of skin cancer when she was just 52.

CLUES WE MISSED AS END DAYS PLAYED OUT

In retirement, Clarke and Boldy regularly appeared at sponsors’ engagements as they built their public profiles to establish a life off the field.

Clarke joined the Channel 9 cricket commentary team but was not picked up by Channel 7 or Fox Sports when the TV rights were renegotiated two summers ago.

Boldy, a former Weather Channel presenter and interior designer, dived back into TV by becoming a judge on Channel 7 renovation show House Rules and worked on her homewares business Lyfestyled.

In January last year, Boldy rubbished suggestions her relationship was in trouble. “We’re not, never were and never will be splitting” Boldy told The Daily Mail, dishing the secret to a healthy marriage.

“Have those date nights so you’re always keeping everything nice and fresh,” she said.

Despite Boldy’s defiant statement, behind the public eye, her relationship was nearing breaking point. The Australian reports they separated five months ago when Clarke moved out of the Vaucluse home they shared and into another of their properties in Bondi.

Just a week ago, Clarke uploaded a photo to Instagram of himself flying solo at the beachside pad.

The last picture on either of the pair’s Instagram accounts together is of Clarke and Boldy posing with Kelsey Lee and Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

In what was perhaps a telling sign alluding to their split, both Clarke and Boldy uploaded separate posts about their daughter this week.

Earlier this month, Boldy was photographed in Sydney’s eastern suburbs wearing what looks like a ring on her finger, but whether it was her actual wedding ring is not clear.

Boldy snapped earlier this month with something on her ring finger. Photo: MEGA.

Is the ring in the first photo the same one as her wedding ring, though?

The Australian reports there is no other romantic interest in either party’s life and despite the upcoming divorce, both Clarke and Boldy will continue to train at the same gym in Sydney’s east.