Aaron Smith and Hannah Whitefield. Photo / Instagram / Aaron Smith
Aaron Smith and Hannah Whitefield. Photo / Instagram / Aaron Smith
This article originally appeared on www.spy.co.nz in 2014 and has been resurfaced following news that Aaron Smith was involed in an incident at a public toilet in Christchurch.
He was due to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Dunedin today, but Spy can reveal All Black Aaron Smith's private life is a right royal mess.
Smith's girlfriend of two years, Dunedin cheerleader Hannah Whitefield, confirmed to Spy she ditched the All Black halfback and Highlanders player 10 days ago after learning he spent the night with Lisa Lewis, Hamilton's most infamous export.
Both women told Spy Smith, 25, a hairdresser from Feilding, needed to take a good look in the mirror.
A heartbroken Whitefield, 24, told Spy:"Yes I dumped Aaron last Thursday [April 3] and it was because of his fling with Lisa Lewis. I am devastated, we were in a loving relationship."
Hannah Whitefield, Otago dancer and former girlfriend of All Black Aaron Smith.
Whitefield met Smith when cheerleading a game. He noticed her, messaged her for a date and it was a love match.The pair lived together in Dunedin.
A source close to Whitefield said: "Hannah was his rock and incredibly supportive of him. Aaron Smith is high-fived in the street and is often told he is 'the man'. He may be a talented rugby player but he shows signs in his personal life that do not make for a good role model."
Whitefield learned of the liaison when Lewis, 33, became suspicious of Smith's erratic contact.
So she did some digging, discovered Whitefield was his girlfriend and spilled the beans to her via text. Lewis, a former stripper, escort, topless TV presenter and one-time Hamilton mayoral candidate, told Spy she has embraced fitness and diet, she trains "harder than an All Black" and that helped the "mutual admiration" between her and Smith.
"He direct-messaged me on Twitter and it all started from there. His messaging turned to facetime video interaction between us, which led me to think he was single as we were facetiming at night for a few hours." (Spy has learned this took place when Whitefield was at dance lessons.)
Lewis, who became a household name after a bikini-clad run through an All Blacks game in Hamilton in 2006, went on to tell Spy: "I thought he was a lovely guy. He invited me to Dunedin but, as I am Hamilton-based, I said no."
The pair eventually got together on March 28, the night before the Highlanders played the Blues in Auckland.
"He was staying at the Crowne Plaza and I drove up on the Friday. He asked me to pick him up a Cadbury Dream Bar as they give him good luck before a game - not a Milky Bar, a Dream Bar and it was quite hard to find."
Perhaps Lewis and the chocolate bar were not much of a good-luck charm as the Highlanders went on to lose their match against the Blues.
Contact between the pair then became irregular, before Smith finally told Lewis he was seeing someone, but that it was on the rocks.
Lewis had past experience of guys doing the same to her, so that's when she decided to fill Smith's girlfriend in.
"Men can be arseholes. I've had this done to me in the past, and I would have wanted to have known."
A source close to Whitefield said Smith's behaviour didn't reflect badly on rugby.
"Hannah had received support from Highlanders and All Blacks and their partners, and Smith's behaviour should not reflect on the culture of the game. It is Aaron's problem."
This afternoon at the Dunedin Rugby Fun Day, also attended by All Black captain Richie McCaw, Prince William is due to present Smith with the IRB Junior World Championship cup to recognise the Under-20 Worlds being held in Auckland in June.
Smith hung up on Spy. Here's hoping he was chattier today.
