Cathy Freeman has been pictured holding hands with a mystery man in Cairns, less than one month after she and her husband of 15 years James Marsh announced their split.
The Australian Olympic gold medallist, 51, was seen taking an intimate seaside stroll with the man on Wednesday during what appeared to be a romantic getaway.
Wearing a Khaki linen dress, Freeman looked every inch in holiday mode and accessorised with a pair of orange sandals and sunglasses.
She used a forearm crutch to aid her walk while her other arm was outstretched and holding the man’s hand.
Meanwhile, her male companion opted for a pink shirt, grey shorts and a floppy-brimmed hat.
He was seen walking by Freeman’s side in a pair of black slides and carried a khaki bag.
Two days after his split with Freeman in August, her ex Marsh was seen for the first time leaving a café in Brighton, Melbourne.
The 49-year-old kept a low profile as he stepped out in a pale turquoise hoodie and black track pants.
Cathy Freeman held hands with a mystery man during an intimate stroll by the seaside in Cairns less than one month after she and her husband of James Marsh announced their split
Freeman and her estranged husband released a joint statement on August 16 with the news that they were parting ways and will continue co-parenting their 13-year-old daughter Ruby.
‘After 15 years of marriage we have unfortunately separated. We continue co-parenting and this is our greatest priority,’ the statement reads, per the Herald Sun.
‘We continue sharing a professional and working partnership through Estrella Sports Management.
‘Given this is a personal matter we would greatly appreciate you respecting our privacy and we won’t be making any further comment.’
The Australian Olympic gold medallist, 51, went for a waterfront stroll with an unidentifiable male on what appeared to be a romantic getaway for the pair
Two days after their split in August, Freeman’s estranged husband Jame Marsh (pictured) was seen for the first time leaving a cafe by himself in Brighton, Melbourne
The notoriously private sports star has previously made headlines for her love life.
She was in a long-term relationship with her athletics roach Nic Bideau, who helped coach her to gold at the 2000 Olympics after their relationship ended.
Freeman was married to her first husband, Alexander ‘Sandy’ Bodecker, from 1999 to 2003.
She went on to date Australian actor Joel Edgerton before they split in 2005, and married her second husband, James Murch, in 2009.
The 49-year-old kept a low profile as he stepped out in a hoodie and black track pants
He appeared very pensive and scrolled his phone during the solo outing
In August, Freeman and Murch announced their shock split after 15 years of marriage. Pictured together in 2016
They welcomed a daughter, Ruby, in 2011.
In her memoir, Freeman revealed the bombshell news that she’d had an affair with Edgerton during her marriage with Bodecker.
The 400m former runner recalled the moment she told her now-ex Bodecker she was ‘seeing someone’.
‘Lighting the cauldron at the Sydney Games was a breeze compared with the anxiety that was pulsing through my veins as I listened to Alexander talk,’ she wrote.
‘I’m seeing someone,’ Freeman wrote of her conversation with Bodecker.
‘It’s Joel Edgerton.’
Freeman made a name for herself when she became the first Australian Indigenous person to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games at age 16.
The sprinter and her husband released a joint statement with the news that they were parting ways and will continue co-parenting their 13-year-old daughter Ruby. Pictured together in 2014
From there, she won two more gold medals at the Commonwealth games in 1994 and a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics.
She came first at the World Championships in 1997 in the 400m event and again in 1999.
In 2000, the Indigenous Australian athlete captivated a nation as she lit the iconic Olympic cauldron at the Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony.
She went on to win the women’s 400-metre race in a time of 49.11 seconds during the Games.
Freeman eventually called time on her sporting career in 2003.
