Just six weeks after the devastating loss of his brother, Mick Fanning has suffered another heartbreak: he’s split from his wife of eight years, Karissa Dalton.
Earlier this morning, the 34-year-old surfer posted a statement on his Facebook page which read:
“I have nothing but love and respect for this woman. Karissa has stood by me since we first met in 2004. We have shared plenty of great times but more importantly she has helped me through some of the toughest moments in my life, especially this past year,” the post began.
“There has been some speculation about our marriage coming to an end over the past six months. We refuted those claims because we were both committed to working things out since we separated last February. After giving it our all though, late last year we made the tough mutual decision to move on separately.”
“It feels weird to put our personal life out there like this but we want to eliminate any speculation about this decision. We’re still close and there’s a lot of love there.”
“This is the only statement we’ll be making about our relationship and we appreciate everyone respecting our privacy concerning this matter. Thanks so much,” Mick concluded.
The duo met through mutual friends and tied the knot in 2008.
It has been a difficult few months for Mick who fought off a shark during competition last year.
He also lost his brother Peter just hours before attempting to win a fourth World title.
