'Know my dad loved me': Son devastated by Dean Jones' death
The mother of Dean Jones’ son has broken her silence after the death of the iconic cricketer last Thursday.
Jones met Kerri-Anne Hamilton in the late 1990s before carrying on an affair for nearly a decade.
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Hamilton has remained silent, out of respect for Jones’ wife Jane, and their daughters, Isabella and Phoebe, in the days after the cricketer’s death from a heart attack.
But Hamilton has revealed the nine-word response Jones’ son, Koby, said when she broke the news his father had died.
“It’s OK, mum,” 11-year-old Koby told his mother. “I know my dad loved me.”
Jones revealed the relationship with Hamilton back in 2010, shocking the nation.
After reports claimed the relationship soured, Hamilton appeared on A Current Affair and claimed she didn’t know Jones was married at the time.
But two years after the birth of his son, Koby, Jones decided it was time to meet him.
Dean Jones’ close relationship with son
The pair struck up a close relationship and Jones spoke to Koby only two days before his death.
Jones FaceTimed Koby and gave him a tour of his studio where he was working in India.
On Sunday, Hamilton wrote on Instagram: “If you know my son you’ve probably heard him say, ‘do you know my dad is Dean Jones?’”
“Proud is an understatement! He adores him and will no doubt live his life with a bat and ball his hand.”
Now, Hamilton said is the right time to speak out, on behalf of Koby.
“It’s an awful time for his wife and his other kids. I’m not trying to step out of line. I want to speak to you for Koby,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“I don’t want Koby to go to school and for kids to say, ‘We didn’t see you, how do we know you were his son?’ He deserves acknowledgment.”
Hamilton said it wasn’t her intention to cause problems for the family, but wanted people to know that Koby’s father was his hero.
“He gave Koby a voice and he had a voice in his life,” she added.
“Right now (Koby) is shocked. He was so proud of his dad. His dad was, is and will always be his hero.”
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