Mick Fanning announces separation from wife Karissa Dalton

Mick and Karissa at the GQ Men of The Year Awards ceremony.

Words by Jed Smith

Mick Fanning’s roller coaster year continues with the three time world champ announcing yesterday evening, via Facebook, that he and wife Karissa Dalton have officially separated after eight years.

“I have nothing but love and respect for this woman,” the 34 year old wrote. “Karissa has stood by me since we first met in 2004. We have shared plenty of great times but more importantly she has helped me through some of the toughest moments in my life, especially this past year.”

The split represents yet another major character test in what was already one of the most dramatic years for any sportsman on record – one in which he survived a great white shark attack, recovered to mount a stoic world title tilt at the season-ending Pipe Masters, intensified by the passing of his older brother, Peter, on the eve of the world title showdown. Mick would fall painfully short of claiming the title, beaten on the final day by Brazilian Adriano De Souza.

The marriage break up comes after months of speculation, with Mick revealing that the split did in fact occur last February just prior to the season opening Quiksilver Pro World Tour event on the Gold Coast.

“There has been some speculation about our marriage coming to an end over the past six months,” he said. “We refuted those claims because we were both committed to working things out since we separated last February. After giving it our all though, late last year we made the tough mutual decision to move on separately.”

Mick met Karissa Dalton in 2004, the same year his career was almost ended by a horrific injury while surfing in the Mentawais. Born in Penrith, in Sydney’s West, his life has been plagued by the kind of adversity that would crush the spirit of most. Raised as one of five, he lost his aspiring-pro-surfer brother, Sean, aged 17 in a car crash, though managed to shelve it all to claim three world titles and cement his spot among sport’s all-time greats. As rumours of a year long sabbatical swirl – or even possible retirement from competitive surfing (denied by Fanning’s camp) – he now confronts yet another significant test.