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- ‘Kelsey Lee Is Our Priority’: How Kyly and Michael Clarke Found Their Balance as Co-Parents
‘Kelsey Lee Is Our Priority’: How Kyly and Michael Clarke Found Their Balance as Co-Parents
by
Anita Anabel
Michael and Kyly Clarke may be Australian household names now, but when they were students together at Westfield Sports High School, they were just Michael and Kyly — two teens who happened to go to the same school.
Fast forward to 2007 and the former Australian cricket captain and House Rules television presenter “reconnected over a drink” in a nightclub.
After asking his mate to get her number, Kyly declined the offer, wanting him to solider up the courage to ask for it himself.
“I was so embarrassed, I decided to leave it to chance, hoping we would bump into each other at another stage,” Michael wrote in his autobiography Michael Clarke: My Story.
Of course, as luck — and a flirty Twitter exchange— would have it, the pair got together before tying the knot in May 2012.
Then, in 2015, the couple announced the arrival of their daughter, Kelsey Lee (now six-years-old) and from the outside, the Clarke’s looked like the picture-perfect family.
However, three short years later, following months of rumours that their marriage was over, the couple officially announced their separation in a joint statement in February 2020.
“After living apart for some time, we have made the difficult decision to separate as a couple, amicably.
“With the greatest of respect for each other, we’ve come to the mutual conclusion that this is the best course for us to take while committed to the co-parenting of our daughter.”
Since their amicable separation, the couple have been nothing short of supportive of one another and their daughter, even going as far to talk about their relationship in the media.
In an interview with KIISFM’s Kyle and Jackie O, Kyly, who kept her married name so that she and her daughter shared the same surname, said: “I mean it’s weird because we basically see each other every day anyway so I don’t even know it feels any different.
“Kelsey Lee is our priority, so we’re just doing everything that is in her best interest. Her happiness is paramount.”
Later the same year, Michael appeared on the radio show saying: “I think I’m extremely lucky to have been able to go through a separation with the mother of my child and us still be great friends.”
He then admitted that their relationship was “as strong as it’s ever been”, saying that the couple “talk daily”.
“I think you’ve heard Kyly say as well both of us will always prioritise our daughter and a big part of that is a friendship between mum and dad,” he added.
Since then, both Kyly and Michael have moved on with other partners, including Michael’s most recent relationship with P.E Nation founder, Pip Edwards, however, they remain the epitome of epic co-parents.
