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Divorce, death and Diamonds snub: Simmons' brutal 24-hours
SEN • May 20th, 2026 7:01 pm
When it comes to resilience, they don’t come much tougher than Verity Simmons.
It’s 2021, the world is in the throes of a pandemic, Australia is shutdown and most major sporting codes are only able to proceed in hub format.
That year marked the second season that Netball Australia had adopted the isolated format. For Simmons and 179 other players, throwing a ball around in an empty stadium was the only human contact they got.
It was during this extended period of being alone that she realised her marriage to former Wallabies player Nathan Charles was probably over.
It wasn’t a snap decision; it was painfully drawn out through months of solitude. Being unable to have face-to-face conversations.
No company but her own.
Add to the mix the death of a loved one and being dropped from the Diamonds after just three caps, Simmons experienced significant heartbreak and trauma in what was already an incredibly challenging time.
“My husband at the time, we spent more time apart than together,” Simmons tells Centre Court. “The first year of covid, being in that hub, I wasn’t missing him, I was liking my own space and we grew apart.
"I went back afterwards and tried to kick things into gear but it still didn’t feel amazing.
“The second year in that hub I knew things weren’t working and we weren’t in a good place. I knew this wasn’t for me anymore. It’s a big call to end a marriage you feel like you’ve failed and that you have failed that person.
“Trying to be an athlete on top of that? It's very difficult. All we then was to be alone. I had a lot of time to think.
“I made the Diamonds squad again but the timing could not have been worse. We went into camp, the stress mentally and physically knowing I was going to home change lives. My diabetes levels were sky rocketing, I lost 5 kgs in that time, I wasn’t sleeping. Everything was normally neat and tidy and it was the opposite. I should not have been in that Diamonds camp.
“Sam Poolman’s grandma who I lived with passed away when I got back. Everything was falling in, it was one thing after another.
“I ended our marriage. As hard as it was, I knew that had to happen.”
In just a 24-hour period, Simmons experienced more than some do in a lifetime. Then came a phone call.
“The next day I got a call and they said I was dropped from the Diamonds squad. It all crumbled. Your world changes in the blink of an eye.
“I got off the phone to Stacey after the Diamonds phone call and went to the beach and just sprinted for kilometres, then I just stopped, vomited and tears came out. I had to get it all out.
“All of a sudden there were lawyers involved and mediation. Life got crazy. I just kept telling myself you can sit and be sad or you get things done.”
In 2022 Simmons was part of the West Coast Fever side that made history, claiming the club’s first ever title after an 11-goal Grand Final victory over the Vixens.
But the win was tainted for Simmons to had to forego the celebrations to prepare for divorce mediation the following morning.
“The stress and pressure that comes with that is like nothing I have been through before,” she said.
“I soaked every second up. But as soon as we got to the pub I held back on the drinks because I knew the next day I needed to be in form for mediation. It was a seesaw.
“There was an ugly side to it. I would have been a different player and person in that time without it.”
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