Inside Derryn Hinch’s Final Great Romance and the Complicated Love Life Behind the ‘Human Headline’

Derryn Hinch lived much of his extraordinary life in public — and his relationships were often every bit as colourful, unpredictable and headline-grabbing as his broadcasting career.

The veteran broadcaster and former senator passed away in his sleep at his Melbourne home at the age of 82 following a long period of ill health.

While Australia remembers the fearless media personality known as the “Human Headline”, another deeply personal chapter of his life has also returned to the spotlight: his remarkable reunion with actress and animal rights campaigner Lynda Stoner, almost four decades after their first engagement ended.

A Lost Love Returned Decades Later

Hinch and Stoner first became romantically involved in the early 1980s, when she was known for her role in the Australian television drama Cop Shop and he was already building a reputation as one of Melbourne radio’s boldest personalities.

Their connection reportedly began through their shared concern for animal welfare. Stoner contacted Hinch after hearing him speak out against live animal exports, revealing a softer side to the outspoken broadcaster that she had not expected.

The attraction quickly developed into a serious relationship, and Hinch proposed while the couple were shopping together in 1981.

However, their engagement did not last.

Hinch’s life at the time was highly public and flamboyant, while Stoner was naturally private and uncomfortable with the intense attention surrounding their relationship. She eventually returned the engagement ring and ended the romance.

Hinch later admitted that the decision left him devastated, although the two remained on friendly and respectful terms.

The Chemistry Was Still There

More than three decades later, their paths crossed again.

The pair reportedly met in Canberra in 2016 to discuss an animal rights matter. What began as a professional conversation soon revealed that the emotional connection between them had never completely disappeared.

Stoner later described the renewed chemistry as far more powerful than a simple spark, famously calling it a “raging inferno”.

By 2019, the couple publicly confirmed they had reunited and were in love again.

Their second chance carried none of the chaos that had surrounded their first romance. Both spoke about the relationship as feeling comfortable, natural and almost destined — as though time had finally brought them back together when they were ready for it.

Lynda Stoner Remained His Partner

Stoner was still publicly recognised as Hinch’s partner at the time of his death.

As tributes spread across Australia, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan offered condolences to Hinch’s family and to Stoner, confirming the important place she continued to hold in his life.

For a man whose relationships had frequently unfolded under intense public scrutiny, his final years with Stoner appeared to offer something quieter — companionship with someone who had known him before many of the biggest triumphs, controversies and health battles of his career.

Their story became one of the most unexpected chapters in Hinch’s personal life: an engagement that ended in heartbreak, a friendship that survived decades and a romance that eventually found its way back.

Four Marriages and a Life Lived in Public

Before reuniting with Stoner, Hinch had experienced several marriages and high-profile relationships.

He married editor Lana Wells during the 1960s, followed by flight attendant Eve Carpenter during the following decade.

His best-known marriage was to celebrated Australian actress Jacki Weaver. The couple married in 1983 and shared a long, sometimes turbulent relationship before separating permanently in the 1990s.

Reports have sometimes described Hinch and Weaver as having married twice. Hinch later clarified that they had one marriage but renewed their vows before eventually divorcing.

Despite the end of their relationship, the two remained close friends. Hinch said they continued to communicate regularly, while Weaver spoke warmly about the qualities that had first made her fall in love with him.

Hinch later married Chanel Hayton in 2006. Their relationship was unconventional, with the couple reportedly maintaining separate homes within the same Melbourne apartment building.

They separated several years later, ending what became Hinch’s fourth marriage.

His High-Profile Relationship With Natasha Chadwick

Hinch later dated television producer, journalist and former detective Natasha Chadwick.

Their considerable age difference attracted public attention, although Chadwick said it did not concern them and that other people often focused on it more than they did.

The relationship eventually ended publicly and acrimoniously.

In 2016, Chadwick criticised Hinch after he acknowledged consuming alcohol following his life-saving liver transplant. Hinch responded by saying that his drinking had been limited and that wine was often heavily diluted.

The disagreement became another highly public chapter in a personal life that was rarely far from headlines.

Jacki Weaver Remained an Important Part of His Story

Of all Hinch’s marriages, his relationship with Jacki Weaver remained one of the most significant.

The pair were together for around 15 years and continued speaking fondly of each other after separating.

Hinch once said their relationship should not be considered a failure simply because it ended. Weaver similarly suggested that their bond had remained strong in a different form, with friendship surviving after the marriage was over.

They had no children together. Weaver later reflected that they would both have welcomed the chance to become parents, but it never happened.

The affection that remained between them showed another side of Hinch — far removed from the combative broadcaster who challenged politicians, courts and powerful institutions on air.

‘I Like Being in Love’

Hinch never hid the fact that he was deeply romantic beneath his forceful public image.

Reflecting on his relationships, he once described himself as sentimental and said he enjoyed both being in love and committing himself to another person.

He acknowledged that relationships could change as people grew in different directions, but often attempted to preserve friendship with his former partners.

That ability to remain connected was particularly evident in his enduring friendships with Weaver and Stoner.

His personal life may have included painful separations, public disagreements and four marriages, but it also revealed a man who repeatedly remained hopeful about love.

A Final Chapter That Came Full Circle

Hinch’s reunion with Stoner offered an emotional sense of completion.

The woman who had once returned his engagement ring because the spotlight felt too overwhelming later returned to his life after both had travelled very different paths.

Their second chance arrived when Hinch was facing some of his most difficult health challenges, including the lasting effects of liver cancer, a liver transplant, repeated falls and hospital stays.

Yet he continued to speak positively about the time he had left, encouraging others to appreciate life rather than fear its ending.

For someone whose career was built around dramatic headlines, Hinch’s final romance carried a surprisingly simple message: sometimes a relationship does not end because the love disappears — it ends because the timing is wrong.

Nearly 40 years later, Derryn Hinch and Lynda Stoner were given the opportunity to discover what might happen when the timing was finally right.

It became one of the last and most moving stories in the extraordinary life of Australia’s unforgettable “Human Headline”.