Sara Leonardi-McGrath: 'Public reaction to me wasn't easy'

Sara Leonardi-McGrath has revealed that she struggled when she first started dating Glenn McGrath.

The 30-year-old, who married Australian cricketer McGrath last year, said that she never thought she would have to face such a public backlash for falling in love with McGrath three years after the death of his first wife.

Leonardi-McGrath told Woman's Day magazine: "It certainly wasn't easy at first. Neither Glenn nor I ever anticipated the reaction we received."

She also hit back at reports claiming she had said that she wanted to replace McGrath's late wife Jane as a mother figure to their children James and Holly, saying: "I didn't say that and I would never say that."

When Leonardi-McGrath first relocated to Australia to live with McGrath, she said that she was "really excited" and was developing a "beautiful bond" with his children.

Shortly after their wedding, the couple were forced to hit back at allegations that they had lied to the public by having two ceremonies.

They were quoted as saying that a magazine article on their wedding ceremonies was "rubbish" and "tacky".

However, Leonardi-McGrath later explained on her Twitter page that they did not like the "contents" of the feature, adding: "I never wrote that it was false."

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