Jana Rawlinson’s estranged husband Chris opens up to Rose Fydler about his marriage bust-up, revealing he’d do anything to get his family back.
Chris Rawlinson once had everything he’d ever dreamed of: marriage to the love of his life, an adorable two-year-old son, and a rewarding career coaching one of the world’s most talented athletes. But it all ended in April when his wife of nearly three years, champion hurdler Jana Rawlinson, left him, jetting off soon after to compete in Europe for five months and taking the couple’s son, Cornelis, with her.
“I woke up one day and my world had collapsed. I’d lost my wife, my child, my home, my job, my car and pretty much my reason for being here in Australia,” the British Olympic hurdler says of the shock marriage split, cutting a lonely figure as he stands amid a sea of half-unpacked boxes in the one-bedroom Sydney apartment he’s just leased.
Until now the silent partner in the breakdown of sport’s glamour union, Chris, 37, opens up to Woman’s Day about love and life with Jana, the truth behind their marriage drama, and his hopes of winning her back.
“I absolutely adore the girl,” he says softly, his Yorkshire accent still strong despite four years in Australia as 26-year-old Jana’s partner, coach and occasional manager. “It breaks my heart to be apart from her and from Cor, the three of us not being a family any more. If I had any say at all in changing that, I would.”
Chris believed himself to be a happily married man until an incident at Jana’s brother’s wedding in January sent the couple spinning towards divorce.
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