Ash Gardner has admitted her relationship with teammate Georgia Voll during the breakdown of her marriage damaged her reputation, but insisted teammates believe she is a good person who made poor decisions.
The Australian vice-captain, 29, has said she was surprised the breakdown of her marriage became so public, adding she was disappointed the controversy overshadowed Australia‘s Twenty20 World Cup triumph.
‘My reputation has been tarnished with the public,’ Gardner told The Courier Mail on Wednesday.
‘But I guess something that I always try to strive to do when representing any team that I play in is be the best teammate that I can, and hopefully show what this team means to me when I’m playing for them.’
‘I know deep down [my teammates] still think that I’m a good person and I’ve just made some poor decisions.
‘I guess that’s the best thing, and being able to reflect on that has been really important for me.’
Australian women’s cricket vice-captain Ash Gardner has given her first in-depth interview since her estranged wife publicly accused her of cheating with teammate Georgia Voll
Gardner and Monica Wright married in the Blue Mountains in April 2025 before their relationship broke down later that year
Voll (pictured) and Gardner were in Europe between the T20 World Cup and The Hundred when the controversy became public
The all-rounder remains Australia’s joint vice-captain alongside Tahlia McGrath, despite Wright questioning whether she met the ‘high moral standard’ expected of a leader.
Gardner and Wright married in the Blue Mountains in April 2025, having met on a dating app in 2020 and proposed to one another in April 2024.
According to The Courier Mail, Gardner’s relationship with Voll began during last year’s World Cup in India.
The relationship became a public controversy in July when Wright shared a photograph of Voll on Instagram with the message: ‘This is who my wife cheated on me with.’
Gardner and Voll were in Europe between the T20 World Cup and The Hundred when the story erupted.
‘I was certainly surprised, as you could imagine,’ Gardner said.
‘I certainly didn’t expect the situation to take the path that it did, or to become as public as what it did.
‘But I also understand that everyone has their own way of dealing with difficult situations.’
Gardner (pictured right) has admitted the controversy surrounding her personal life has ‘tarnished’ her public reputation
Voll (pictured) is now in a relationship with Gardner, who remains Australia’s joint vice-captain
Gardner said she had since taken time to reflect and conceded she might have underestimated how far the story would spread.
‘I can understand obviously [Monica’s] perspective,’ she said.
‘So for me, it was trying to, I guess, stay positive in what was a pretty tricky time with this being so public and probably going further than maybe what I thought, so maybe that was me being a little bit naive.’
The controversy erupted just days after Australia beat England at Lord’s to reclaim the T20 World Cup trophy.
Gardner, a two-time Belinda Clark Award winner, said the attention on her personal life had taken the focus away from the squad’s unbeaten campaign.
‘One of the most disappointing things was the conversation around the situation somewhat overshadowed the success that we’d had at the World Cup,’ she said.
Wright previously criticised Cricket Australia’s handling of the situation, questioning why Gardner had been allowed to remain in senior leadership roles.
‘I think if you’re privileged enough to represent your country and be seen as a role model, there’s a responsibility to hold yourself to a high moral standard,’ she told The Daily Telegraph in August.
Gardner shares Australia’s vice-captaincy with Tahlia McGrath under captain Sophie Molineux
‘Captains are expected to set the standard, and that kind of conduct falls well short of it.’
Wright also raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving Gardner and Voll.
But Cricket Australia stood by Gardner, saying it had known about the situation for months and had introduced measures to manage conflicts.
Chief executive Todd Greenberg said in August that additional safeguards would ensure matters such as selection were handled appropriately where personal relationships were involved.
Gardner publicly addressed the separation that month, thanking the Cricket Australia board for supporting her continued leadership.
‘I am grateful for the time Monica and I shared and sorry for the pain this has caused. I wish her nothing but happiness and success in the future,’ she said on social media.
The Daily Mail previously reported details of the split through an unnamed source, who claimed a conversation at the couple’s Northern Beaches home after the India tour effectively ended their marriage.
The source claimed the couple had been planning to start a family and that Wright cancelled a fertility clinic booking following the separation.
Gardner is now preparing for Australia’s first series since the scandal became public, with the team facing Bangladesh in three one-day internationals in Brisbane from Friday. McGrath is set to captain the side.
She maintained that her relationship with Voll had not cost her the national captaincy following Alyssa Healy’s departure.
‘I wouldn’t be in selection meetings or have the final say if it involved Georgia, but I may be consulted on the team, team makeup, excluding her,’ Gardner said.
‘Obviously just the discussions around if Georgia’s in it, that’s when I would have to step out of the conversation.’
Gardner said coach Shelley Nitschke and selector Shawn Flegler ultimately made selection decisions on tour.
