Posed for a photo with former spouse Cathrine Mahoney
Andrew Johns has made a very rare appearance with his ex-wife Cathrine Mahoney to celebrate a big milestone for their son Louis after he signed on with an NRL team.
Johns and Mahoney were married from 2007 to 2014 before calling it splits, with the fallout becoming messy when Mahoney released her memoir Currently Between Husbands in 2022.
It included her frank and often humorous deep dive into the breakdown of their marriage, with Mahoney revealing the price of fame took its toll.
‘I’d get exhausted sometimes being with Andrew because you’d have to smile all the time – usually when you were in the middle of a big argument,’ Mahoney said at the time.
‘Even the most amazing high-end celebrity still goes to the toilet, still gets a period, still fights with their boyfriend and still has to get up with their kids, but they have to be “on” the whole bloody time.’
Johns has since tied the knot with his new wife Kate Kendall in a secret ceremony in Bali in 2024 and the couple have a daughter together, Alice.
Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns reunited with ex-wife Cathrine Mahoney after their son Louis signed a development contract with the Sydney Roosters
Johns and Mahoney, pictured with their son Louis and Johns’ son Samuel from his previous marriage, divorced in 2014.
The rugby league Immortal also has two sons, one with his first wife Renae Chapman and another with Mahoney.
And it was that son who brought the former husband and wife back together, with their boy Louis Byron taking his first strides towards an NRL career of his own.
The 16-year-old has signed a development deal with the Sydney Roosters and is set to play in the Harold Matthews Cup under-17s competition for the Bondi club in 2026.
That huge announcement meant both parents met with Louis to congratulate him in Newcastle, with Mahoney posting the image of their reunion to Instagram.
‘Proud parents post. There aren’t many people I’d drive up and back to Newcastle in a day for but Louis Byron I wouldn’t have missed it,’ she said.
‘Tipping you’re set to be taller than your folks any day now.’
Mahoney has previously spoken about how challenging the divorce from her high-profile husband was.
‘When a marriage ends, you shove it all in a box and stuff it in the back of your wardrobe and don’t want a word of it,’ she said.
Johns is now married to Kate Kendall after they tied the knot in a secret ceremony in Bali
Johns is a legend in Newcastle after delivering two premierships to the region during his playing days
‘But unpacking it six years later, you realise time heals and you look at things differently. I was bonkers crazy in love with Andrew, and he was with me. It just didn’t last the course.’
And footy fans loved seeing the amicable moment with the proud parents and their son, hoping Louis can forge his own path in the NRL in the coming years.
‘Louis is such a nice combo of you both,’ one posted.
Another said: ‘Congratulations Louis Byron. No doubt two very proud parents. Welcome to the Roosters.’
Newcastle supporters were not as happy, hoping Louis would continue the Johns legacy in the Hunter region.
Johns was born in Cessnock and delivered two premierships to Newcastle in 1997 and 2001, as well as playing alongside his famous brother Matthew Johns.
‘This hurts my Newcastle soul,’ one fan lamented.
Another pleaded: ‘Keep him in Newcastle knights colours please.’
But Johns says he has ‘moved on’ from Newcastle.
‘I live in Sydney now,’ he said on his podcast with Brad Fittler.
‘I haven’t lived there now in Newcastle for 18 or 19 years, and I’ve moved on. I’m not on the ground, you’ve got to be there every day.
‘I’ll never coach, because I haven’t got the personality. I live in Sydney and I love where I’m living. The drive up there, I couldn’t be doing it and I’m not moving back to Newcastle.’
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Revealed: The heartwarming reason for footy legend Andrew Johns’ VERY rare reunion with his ex-wife