Last-minute wedding shock leaves Rach stunned

Rachel Hunter and Jarret Stoll jointly signed an email sent to friends saying their August wedding was off.

Hunter's stunned friends and family are baffled as to why the 27-year-old ice hockey star got cold feet so close to his wedding to the 39-year-old. One source said Hunter had had "a pretty rough few days" and that the split was a shock.

The couple were to have married in northern California in mid-August, a month before Hunter's 40th birthday.

An excited Hunter changed her mind six times about the location before settling on California. She had picked a dress and was working on the bridesmaids' dresses.

At least half a dozen Kiwis, including family, had planned to travel to the wedding.

In an email sent to friends and signed "Jarret and Rachel", the couple said they regretted they had had to abandon their wedding plans.

During a visit to Auckland last year, the newly engaged Hunter flashed a large diamond engagement ring while the couple posed for photographers. Hunter later talked about the possibility of having a child with Stoll.

A family friend said Hunter and Stoll seemed well suited and the LA Kings hockey player was "a hell of a nice guy".

Hunter probably felt similar to Rod Stewart when Hunter suddenly announced, in 1999, that their eight-year marriage was over, the source said. Much like that split, there was no one else involved.

It was too early to say what would happen to the $5.6m home the couple bought in 2007 at Hermosa Beach after Hunter moved from West Hollywood.

Those who knew the couple speculated that Stoll had become alarmed by the pending commitment. The ice hockey circuit was a single man's game with players touring for considerable lengths of time, one source said. Hunter was also away a lot with work.

"Maybe the reality of it started to set in, how he would balance his hockey career with being married."

Hunter was handling the situation. "She'll plough on ... Poor Rach."