You were the love of my life: Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s husband, John Kennerley, has died
Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s husband, John, has died, with the heartbroken star declaring: “You were the love of my life”.
Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s husband, John, has died at the age of 78, with his wife and son by his side.
He spent his final days at a Sydney hospital, with his Australian TV icon wife announcing his passing in a heart-rending post with a picture of their 1984 wedding on Instagram this morning.
“It’s with a heavy heart and awful sadness that I let you know that my beautiful husband John passed away last night,” Ms Kennerley wrote.
“John passed away peacefully with his son Simon and me by his side.”
Ms Kennerley ended the post with: “John, you were the love of my life. Xxx.”
A tragic fall had left John paralysed and wheelchair bound in 2016.
Kerri-Anne, known to many as KAK, devoted her time to caring for him.
It’s understood he was admitted to hospital more than a week ago.
“As you all know, John has faced some tremendous challenges over the past few years and with each he has been extraordinarily brave and determined to overcome those hurdles and live a normal life,” Kerri-Anne posted.
“I want to thank everyone at St Vincent’s Hospital for the beautiful care they have provided to John in his last days.”
The pair had been married for more than three decades.
His death came almost three years after the couple was rocked by the accident that changed both their lives in just a matter of hours.
In May, 2016, John suffered severe spinal injuries after falling from a balcony at a golf course.
He was left an incomplete quadriplegic, with Kerri-Anne as unwavering in her support as she was brutally honest about the challenges the pair faced.
He was placed in an induced coma and spent almost seven weeks in intensive care after landing on his head and back, fracturing his C2 and C3 vertebrae.
“She was there when I woke up”
He woke unable to move or speak, but eventually regained the ability to talk.
Kerri-Anne maintained a vigil at the hospital, and after eight months took her husband home.
He would later reveal in an interview with Sunday Night she was the only reason he decided to carry on with the fight.
“Without her I don’t think I would have attempted it,” he said. “She was there when I woke up and she has been with me every day.”
“She never faltered.”
The pair was a fixture on the celebrity circuit, with Kerri-Anne writing of her their struggles after John’s accident.
When she was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame in 2017, “I knew John would have to be there with me,” she wrote in her book, A Bold Life.
“There was no question about that. He’s been at every Logies with me over the years and couldn’t miss seeing me finally rewarded.
“But I also knew having him there wouldn’t be easy. We hadn’t even contemplated travelling since his accident. The mere thought was too daunting.
But we would get John there somehow. We would make it work. We always have. We would get on with the show.”
John was Kerri-Anne’s biggest fan. In the pair’s bedroom “strewn everywhere are memories, scrapbooks,” she revealed.
“John meticulously kept every news clipping mentioning me for 40-odd years”.
“An extraordinary man”
Kerri-Anne’s Studio 10 co-host Angela Bishop wiped away tears as she announced the news on this morning’s show, calling him “an extraordinary man”.
Network 10 CEO Paul Anderson said his thoughts were with Kennerley, Simon and their family.
“John faced some enormous challenges over the last few years and during this time, Kerri-Anne, in her usual grace and stamina, has shown enormous strength, compassion, love and commitment,” he said in a statement.
Sandra Sully and Lisa Wilkinson also paid tribute online.
“Their love for each other was absolute,” wrote Wilkinson. “Never more so than in the years since John’s tragic accident. Vale.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the couple’s marriage a “true love story”.
“They shared their story openly with the Australian public and they let people into a very private part of their lives and I think the strength, determination and compassion and care that was shown in that relationship was an inspiration to all Australians,” he told reporters.
Kennerley’s friend and ex-Studio 10 co-host Ita Buttrose sent her condolences.
“They were a great couple and she adored him,” she said.
Love story across decades
Eternally charming, John was an Englishman who made his fortune as a UK pools executive and founded NSW Lotto.
His number one love was Kerri-Anne, but he was also an unashamed devotee of model trains — tracks traversed a series of rooms in their Woollahra home.
The pair loved to entertain, and were effervescent company, always sought out on the celebrity circuit.
Welcoming people to their home, he was the consummate host: charming, entertaining, effervescent, and eternally as ready with a top-up of a glass as he was to show off his beloved trains.
They met in New York in the late 1970s as she tried to carve out a career as a singer in New York. At the time, she was married to first husband, Jimmy.
John helped her leave the abusive relationship: “When she arrived at my doorstep with a black eye and a bit of a bloody nose, I realised exactly what was happening,” he said of that time.
He became her close friend, confidant, and the pair fell in love.
John had also been married previously, and had adult children
The couple shared lavish holidays and a love of laughter, as well as battling tougher times including his battle with bowel cancer in 1998, and hers with breast cancer in 2012 — before his accident.
They approached every hurdle the same way they loved: unflinchingly, unwaveringly together.
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