Australian women’s vice captain Ashleigh Gardner took to social media on Thursday to publicly apologise to her ex-wife, Monica Wright, and address the controversy surrounding their separation. Recently, Wright had alleged that Ashleigh Gardner had an affair with teammate Georgia Voll that fuelled the separation between them. Notably, the couple split this year after being married for few months.
“While my separation from my wife is a personal matter, I understand my current relationship status needed to be addressed by Cricket Australia given my position as vice-captain. I am grateful that the CA Board has chosen to support my continued leadership," Gardner posted on her Instagram story.
"I look forward to playing a strong role as a leader and providing the best possible support for my teammates in the season to come. I am grateful for the time Monica and shared and sorry for the pain this has caused. I wish her nothing but happiness and success in the future. I won't be making any further public comment on this matter at this time and ask that the privacy of those involved is respected," she added.
Monica Wright had also recently questioned CA’s inaction against Gardner. However, Cricketer Australia (CA) maintained that the matter was a personal issue.
“Cricket Australia ensures all relationships within our workforce comply with our Respect at Work policy. This includes putting appropriate conflict-of-interest management arrangements in place to support leadership responsibilities and maintain the integrity of team processes,” CA had stated in a statement.