Kerri-Anne Kennerley's husband John has died, three years on from his tragic accident.

John Kennerley, Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s husband, has died three years after a life-altering fall left him in a coma for weeks.

The Australian talk show legend announced the sad news to her 39,000 followers on Instagram on Thursday morning.

“It’s with a heavy heart and awful sadness that I let you know that my beautiful husband John passed away last night,” the 65-year-old wrote.

Kerri-Anne said her husband died at a Sydney hospital with herself and son Simon by his side.

“As you all know, John has faced some tremendous challenges over the past few years and with each he has been extraordinarily brave and determined to overcome those hurdles and live a normal life.

“I want to thank everyone at St Vincent’s Hospital for the beautiful care they have provided to John in his last days.

“John passed away peacefully with his son Simon and me by his side.

“John, you were the love of my life,” her statement concluded.

 

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It’s with a heavy heart and awful sadness that I let you know that my beautiful husband John passed away last night. As you all know, John has faced some tremendous challenges over the past few years and with each he has been extraordinarily brave and determined to overcome those hurdles and live a normal life. I want to thank everyone at St Vincent’s Hospital for the beautiful care they have provided to John in his last days. John passed away peacefully with his son Simon and me by his side. John, you were the love of my life. Xxx

A post shared by Kak ???? (@kerriannekennerley) on Feb 27, 2019 at 2:28pm PST

Kerri-Anne and John had been enjoying a happy life together when tragedy struck in March, 2016. The then-75-year-old suffered a catastrophic fall at a Coffs Harbour golf resort.

In a 2017 interview with Mamamia’s Mia Freedman on No Filter, Kerri-Anne said she lives with regret because her husband had wanted to leave that day.

“John was supposed to fly back on the Sunday morning at 10am because his nephew had just arrived from England in Sydney for the first time and we had handed him the keys on the Friday when we left and said ‘we’ll be back’.”

Kerri-Anne explained that her husband felt guilty about leaving his nephew and so wanted to return earlier, but she convinced him to stay.

“I remember waking up that morning convincing him that a 19-year-old boy, he’s going to have a great time in Sydney, he doesn’t need his Uncle John and so he stayed.”

At 7.20pm that night the pair were going out to dinner when a fan asked for a photograph. John moved to get back into the photo frame when he tripped on a box planter and hit his head.

John was rushed to hospital. He had broken his neck and damaged his spinal cord, and placed in an induced coma. He was diagnosed with quadriplegia, and when he awoke, was told he would never walk again.

It was the beginning of an entirely new life for Kerri-Anne and John.

Listen: In 2017, Kerri-Anne spoke to Mia Freedman about her unconditional love for her husband John…

John, who had never been one to talk about his feelings much, now couldn’t talk at all. He completely relied on blinking to communicate. The first word he blinked out was: “paraplegic”.

“I couldn’t tell him that he wasn’t that lucky,” Kerri-Anne recalled. Instead of being unable to move from only the waist down, John would now live with incomplete quadriplegia.

In time, he would be able to move his legs and operate his wheelchair. He spent eight months in hospital and months at home getting to that stage.

Kerri-Anne told Mia that she felt as if a stage of their life had been robbed from them.

Instead of travelling the world like they had planned, John was relearning skills, while Kerri-Anne became his carer. With the help of registered nurses, she ensured he was moved, received his medication and had his basic needs taken care of.

Eventually, Kerri-Anne said she and John had adjusted to their new life.

“It’s in a really nice swing. It’s our new norm. you have to wrap your head around that and get on with it.”

 

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Simon’s birthday celebrations ????#prouddad Happy Sunday everyone

A post shared by Kak ???? (@kerriannekennerley) on May 7, 2017 at 3:09am PDT

When Kerri-Anne was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame in April 2017 she paid tribute to her husband.

“The person who shares this accolade more than anyone else is my husband, John,” she told the audience.

“He has been with me throughout this entire circus.”

“The past 13 months have been a pretty big learning curve. There have been a lot of lessons we didn’t want to have to learn,” she said. “But we have learned darling and we will continue to learn.

“My message is to love what you do and love even more whoever you choose to be with.

“I would give away 50 years of my career and all these incredible experiences, and anything else I could think of, just to have you standing here by my side holding my hand.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said John died at a Melbourne hospital.