Bingle's agent wants A$1m for her story

BY GEORGINA ROBINSON

Last updated 10:52 11/03/2010

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Lara Bingle

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Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke

Australian cricketers and their WAGs

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Haley Bracken, wife of Nathan Bracken, arrives for Cricket Australia's gala event, the presentation of the Allan Border Medal, in Melbourne.

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It is the question on everybody's lips and it comes with a A$1 million price tag.

Have Australia's sporting glamour couple, Michael Clarke and Lara Bingle, broken off their engagement and split up?

Australian TV's A Current Affair reported as much last night, but could get no confirmation from either party or their managers.

Instead, Bingle's agent Max Markson demanded A$1 million for the 22-year-old to appear on camera, reporter Ben Fordham said.

"I said to Max yesterday, 'there's no money on offer here' but if Lara wants to say anything I'm happy to send a camera down to her, if she doesn't want a reporter there I'm happy for you to put the camera in front of her and she can just make a comment if you like'," Fordham told 2UE today.

"And Max's response was 'yeah yeah mate, $1 million ... $1 million, two-year deal' and I laughed into the phone.

"I couldn't quite believe it."

Mr Markson could not be contacted today.

Bingle was photographed leaving the couple's A$6 million Bondi apartment without her engagement ring on last night.

News Ltd websites and papers quoted unnamed sources saying Bingle and Clarke were negotiating a separation.

Fordham told 2UE he received the news from one of Bingle's friends about 4pm yesterday.

"Lara Bingle confided in one of her friends ... she's confided with a few of her friends yesterday, that the relationship is over," he said.

"There is specific language [Bingle] used in that conversation that I'm aware of but I can't really go into it because it might give away my source.

"But basically the relationship's over, she was not surprised at all by this and it was instigated by Michael Clarke who made the decision that 'look, we can't keep going on like this, the wedding is not going ahead'."

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