Dean Jones’ ‘beloved son’ ‘deserves recognition,’ says cricketer’s lover

Koby Dean Hamilton, the 11-year-old son of the late Australian cricket star Dean Jones, had a nine-word answer when his mother told him that his father had died.

“Okay, Mom,” Koby told Kerri-Anne Hamilton, a flight attendant whom Jones met in the late 1990s before having a decade-long secret affair. “I know my dad loved me.”

As Jones’ wife of more than 30 years, Jane, and their daughters, Isabella and Phoebe, publicly mourned the Victorian hero in the 48 hours after his death in India after suffering cardiac arrest, the Hamiltons kept silent out of respect.

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But Kerri-Anne spoke up today, saying it was important that Koby be heard because her father was her hero.

“This is a terrible time for his wife and his other children. I’m not trying to get out of line. I want to talk to you for Koby,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “I don’t want Koby to go to school and have the kids say, ‘We didn’t see you, how do we know you were her son?’ It deserves recognition. “

Australia was shocked when Jones confirmed his relationship with Kerri-Anne in July 2010.

The 2007 Victorian father of the year met blonde Sydneysider at a celebrity golf event where he was working as a promotions model.

They had an affair for nine years, and sources told the Herald Sun that at that point Jones would fly with Kerri-Anne “all over the world” before the relationship cracked when she became pregnant and began asking for child support payments. .

Kerri-Anne responded by selling her story to A Current Affair, stating that she did not know that he was married when they met and that he was not the one seeking the relationship.

“We were having lunch and he said, ‘I don’t know if you know, but I’m married,'” Kerri-Anne told ACA. “Sometimes I would ignore her for almost a year and not a day would go by without me receiving a message from her.

“I never gave him an ultimatum. I never said, ‘Leave your wife.’ The turning point was when I asked for child support.”

But after not knowing his son for almost two years, Jones turned a corner and tried his best to be Koby’s father.

“Dean was always trying to take care of everyone; his family and also me and Koby. He made everyone feel special and loved,” Kerri-Anne told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“It was never easy for him. Deano didn’t meet Koby until he was almost two years old. One day he said, ‘This is silly, I need to meet him.’ Anyway, I didn’t need to introduce them. I told Koby there was someone here. to see him and I told him it was his dad. ”He just ran up to him, down the stairs, and jumped into his arms.

“He always made sure Koby and I were okay. I am very respectful of his family and he loved his wife and daughters. It is not my intention to cause trouble. He had a son and he loves his son. I have always taken it. that Dean could give us and that has always been enough. “

Koby, a young point guard and prominent cricketer, had Face-Timed with Jones as recently as two days before his death, where his father showed him the India comment booth he was working in and had his colleague Brett Lee who valiantly tried to resurrect Jones say hi.

“Koby always waited so much anticipation for Dean to call,” Kerri-Anne said. “I admired him and had written questions to ask him because he was so knowledgeable. They talked statistics for years and he guided him in his sport – how to swing (the bat), how to think.

“He always said he would give anything to have a relationship with Koby, but he never wanted to hurt anyone. He put everything on the line for us and I will never forget it. I know it is very complicated, but his dedication to Koby and all his children says it all. … He gave Koby a voice and he had a voice in his life. Right now (Koby) is in shock. He was so proud of his dad. His dad was, is, and always will be his hero. “