- Essendon Great and Tania married in October 1997
- Were together through a hellish drug scandal in the club
The AFL’s all-time great James Hird has split from his wife of 27 years and moved from their family home in Melbourne’s most exclusive suburb, it is reported.
The Essendon legend and his wife Tania were together through his highs as arguably the game’s best player at the height of his on-field career, to the crushing lows caused by the Bombers drugs scandal, which came to a head in 2013 came.
The couple has four children together and managed to keep the divorce a secret for over a year News Corp.
Tania wasn’t wearing her wedding ring in an Instagram post she made for her design company four weeks ago.
It appears she also took a trip to Vietnam with their three sons last October, posting a photo of them together with no sign of Hird.
However, last September she wore her wedding ring at another post for her company.
Hird has rarely made public appearances lately and has endured a rollercoaster ride when it comes to his career.
Essendon chief executive James Hird and his wife Tania separated over a year ago
The former Bombers player and coach has moved from his family home in the exclusive Melbourne suburb of Toorak, it is reported
It was announced last year that he will return to TV on Channel Nine’s Sunday night show Footy Furnace, alongside fellow AFL great, Jimmy Bartel.
Before that, he suffered another blow in a career full when he applied for the role of head coach at the Bombers after Ben Rutten was transferred in 2022, with chairman David Barham opting for Brad Scott.
He was also close to taking on the coaching role at VFL club Port Melbourne, but decided to become director of coaching due to business commitments.
It is unknown whether he will continue in the role now that he has been given the job at Nine.
More to come…