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Andrew Johns' ex-wife opens up about sad marriage breakdown

Andrew Johns, pictured here with Cathrine Mahoney and his two sons Louis and Samuel.
Andrew Johns with Cathrine Mahoney and his two sons Louis and Samuel at the NRL grand final in 2012. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The ex-wife of NRL legend Andrew Johns has lifted the lid on their marriage breakdown in a new memoir.

Johns married Cathrine Mahoney in 2007 after the pair met in 2002, however things didn't work out and they divorced in 2014.

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They share one son together - 13-year-old Louis.

After initially separating in 2011, Johns and Mahoney reunited but called it quits three years later.

Now, Mahoney is speaking out about her marriage with Johns - a Newcastle Knights and NSW legend who now commentates for Channel Nine.

Writing in her new memoir 'Currently Between Husbands', Mahoney opens up about what it was like when the marriage broke down.

“When a marriage ends, you shove it all in a box and stuff it in the back of your wardrobe and don’t want a word of it,” the 47-year-old author and podcast host said in an interview with Stellar magazine.

“But unpacking it six years later, you realise time heals and you look at things differently.

"I was bonkers crazy in love with Andrew, and he was with me. It just didn’t last the course.”

Andrew Johns and Cathrine Mahoney, pictured here at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame ceremony in 2012.
Andrew Johns and Cathrine Mahoney at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame ceremony in 2012. (Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Mahoney also opens up about the media attention and spotlight associated with being married to one of the biggest names in Australian sport.

“I’d get exhausted sometimes being with Andrew because you’d have to smile all the time – usually when you were in the middle of a big argument,” she said.

“Even the most amazing high-end celebrity still goes to the toilet, still gets a period, still fights with their boyfriend and still has to get up with their kids, but they have to be ‘on’ the whole bloody time.”

Andrew Johns and Cathrine Mahoney, pictured here at their wedding in Sydney in 2007.
Andrew Johns and Cathrine Mahoney at their wedding in Sydney in 2007. (AAP Image/The Fordham Company) (PR IMAGE)

Andrew Johns' glittering NRL career

A former publicist for Sony Music, Channel Nine and Nova radio, Mahoney hosts the podcast 'So, I Quit My Day Job', as well as co-hosting another called 'Not Another Parenting Podcast'.

Johns also has a 21-year-old son called Samuel with first wife Renae Chapman.

He split with Chapman in 2002 after two years of marriage.

The 48-year-old is currently raising a three-year-old daughter with current partner Kate Kendall.

Widely regarded as one of the best players in rugby league history, Johns played 249 first grade games for Newcastle, winning the premiership in 1997 and 2001.

He also played 23 games for NSW at State of Origin level, as well as 26 Test matches for Australia.

He was awarded the Dally M medal for best player in the game on three occasions and was named as the game's eighth 'immortal' in 2012.

Since retirement, Johns has turned to the media and is currently a commentator and presenter for Channel Nine.

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