Warne: Writing my obit made me better
Shane Warne has opened up about some of the lowest moments in his life – and explained how writing his own obituary helped him become a better person.
The legendary cricketer, 49, is busy promoting his new autobiography, No Spin, and is proving to live up to the book’s title during his publicity interviews, candidly discussing the many highs and lows of both his cricket career and personal life.
In a frank interview with 7.30’s Leigh Sales, Shane Warne speaks about the worst moments of his life.
Telling Sales that the biggest regrets he has are the times he’s let down his children – ‘‘I have to live with that for the rest of my life,’’ he said – Warne didn’t shy away from detailing his darkest days.
‘‘You go through in great detail all of the various scandals that happened over your career,’’ Sales says to Warne. ‘‘The fine for match fixing, the diuretic issue, tabloid paper stuff, the investigation into the Shane Warne Foundation . . . what has been the lowest moment personally for you?’’
‘‘It was only a short time which was great – when people thought I was a drug cheat,’’ replied Warne, referring to the 12-month ban he copped in 2003 after testing positive for a banned diuretic.
‘‘I’m anti-drugs. I don’t do drugs. I’ve never tried cocaine or any of that stuff. When people found out that I’d failed a drug test, they thought I’d taken drugs but I’d taken a fat pill off my mum.
‘‘I never blame my mum and it annoys me that people [do]. It wasn’t fair. All I said was I got it from my mum because otherwise people might have thought, ‘A diuretic, where did you get it from? Black market?’ I was just being honest.’’
The other big low in Warne’s life came when his not-for-profit foundation – named the Shane Warne Foundation and aimed at assisting underprivileged children – was investigated in 2015 after it failed to submit financial records. The foundation was subsequently closed in early 2016.
‘‘The other thing was the foundation,’’ Warne said. ‘‘To be accused that you are taking money from the foundation, or throwing parties for your friends, when we raised over A$4 million ...
‘‘To see the time and effort that the board put in, my own money I put in to make a difference to children... [It] was very, very hurtful.’’
Warne also spoke about his decision to see a psychologist a number of years ago, in an effort to improve himself.
‘‘I encourage anyone, if they have any issues whatsoever, please go and see someone. It’s important to talk to someone,’’ Warne said. ‘‘I was a bit like, ‘Don’t need that,’ and then when I started dating Elizabeth [Hurley] I wanted to become a better person. Not just because of her but for the kids. I was sick of the rubbish, I want to be better and I wanted to understand why things happened.’’
Explaining that he reached out to former English cricketer, nowsports psychologist Jeremy Snape, Warne says they spent a week working through his issues in a hotel room.
"He said, ‘It is going to be brutal,’ and I said, ‘Bring it, let’s go, I want to understand this’,’’ Warne told Sales. ‘‘The first question, he said, ‘Write your own obituary’.
‘‘I had a few goes at it and I didn’t like, at that stage, I wasn’t happy with who I [was] and I felt I needed to change. I needed to do a few things and be better.
‘‘I’ve tried and I think I’m doing a pretty good job. That was eight years ago now. Maybe I’m getting wiser, maybe I’m maturing. I’m happy with who I am and I understand myself. That’s half the battle.’’
Of his relationship status, Warne admitted being single ‘‘is lonely at times,’’ but says it’s hard finding the right person at his age – especially with his high profile.
. ‘‘I’m happy being single but ideally I would love to be in a relationship that makes me happy.’’