Years after her ex-fiancé Shane Warne's sudden passing, Elizabeth Hurley is still close with the cricket legend's family.
The actress and her son, Damian Hurley, 22, recently met up with Shane's kids — Brooke, 27, Jackson, 25, and Summer, 23 — for a heartfelt day together at Oaks Day in Melbourne.
"Today deserves a double upload," Brooke shared on Instagram, posting a photo of the group celebrating together. "Special memories with this bunch, a special day with our special people!"
Brooke also shared a fun Instagram Story with Damian, where she laughed as he crashed her video. "Baby brother, missed you," she captioned it, showing how tight the two families remain.
Hurley, 59, also posed for a sweet shot with Brooke, who was once her 'almost step-mum.' Although Hurley and Warne split in 2013, the love between their families continues to this day.
How Elizabeth Hurley and Shane Warne met.
It all started at the Royal Ascot Racecourse back in July 2010. The unlikely chemistry between glam Hollywood star Liz Hurley and larrikin cricketer Shane Warne was instant, and before long, the world was hooked on their whirlwind romance.
The Hollywood star and the cricket icon's public flirtation was full of cheeky tweets and paparazzi snaps — in one memorable exchange, Liz teased Warne in one tweet: "Oooh … you're such a caveman. My beautiful baby spaniel is undoubtedly better behaved than you."
Shane responded, "Excuse me Elizabeth, I'm a very well-behaved gentleman! Caveman?? What does that mean? We have TV here in Australia! Hahaha."
For Warne, their time together was "the happiest of my life," he later said.
In 2011, they had a spontaneous moment, getting engaged on a yacht in the Mediterranean. It was a move that could have been straight out of Liz's rom-coms.
But the union wasn't to last. While the pair parted ways in 2013 — with Warne saying it "wasn't something that she or I did wrong, it just fizzled out" — they never lost the connection they'd built.
Warne later wrote about the split in his memoir No Spin: "We agreed it was over, for good this time. 'So what are we going to do?' I asked. 'How do we tell the kids again?'"
Even after parting ways, Hurley and Warne kept a strong friendship. They were committed to staying connected to their kids, and the two families continued to share a bond.
In 2020, Warne told The Mirror, "We're still great friends, we still stay in touch, we're good for each other, and our kids get along great."
On his show A Week With Warnie, Warne admitted he was "quite sad it's over" because Liz is "a wonderful person" that he "cares about deeply."
Heartbreak and healing.
When Warne passed away in his Thai villa in March 2022 at the age of just 52, Hurley was devastated.
She posted a moving tribute on Instagram: "I feel like the sun has gone behind a cloud forever. RIP my beloved Lionheart."
In a later interview with The Telegraph, she reflected, "It was appalling losing Shane; it was a terrible thing. And it's a sadness, you know, that stays with you a long time."
In another interview with The Times, Hurley admitted, "Losing Shane was terrible. It's taken a long time to sink in. I honestly kept thinking he'd call and it would turn out to be some big Aussie joke."
She also revealed Warne was one of the "four greatest loves" of her life, adding with a laugh, "I always say to the other two, you'd better watch your backs."
Liz soon opened up about how the sporting legend's death affected her only son.
"Shane was more a fun uncle figure. But yes, all those things, combined with Covid and lockdown — that was a huge amount for a young person to process."
After Shane's passing, Hurley has honoured his family in many ways, including a sweet post on International Women's Day where she celebrated his daughters Brooke and Summer.
She wrote, "I dedicate this #internationalwomensday to two brave, beautiful women @brookewarne and @summerwarne. I love you both so much and have the happiest memories of our times together. Your daddy loved you with all his heart."
When Shane's daughter Summer shared a heartbreaking post after his passing, Liz commented, "I love you, Summer. Your daddy worshipped you".
And to Shane's son Jackson, she wrote, "I love you, Jackson."
Image: Instagram