Grant Hackett has married his partner Sharlene Fletcher in an intimate ceremony

Swimming champion Grant Hackett secretly wed his fiancee Sharlene Fletcher in Melbourne on Monday.

Hackett revealed the happy news with pictures from the special day filled with love.

Fletcher said the small ceremony was attended by their 11 month-old son Eddie, Hackett’s two children from his previous marriage to Candice Alley and their two best friends.

Hackett said he hoped to plan a bigger wedding but the couple wanted to end this COVID affected year on a high.

“I feel so blessed to call you my wife @sharhackett. With a year that’s been filled with so much uncertainty it’s been such a perfect way to finish off 2020,’’ Hackett wrote on Instagram.

“With COVID-19 continuing to delay our nuptials and the ability to properly plan our wedding, with all of our friends and family in one location both locally and from overseas, Sharlene and I just wanted to say “I do”!”

Hackett said even though it was not their official wedding it could not have been a more perfect way to marry his best friend.

He also thanked his son Jagger Hackett for “being the most amazing ring bearer and best man”.

Sharlene said she was still on cloud nine.

“We had such a beautiful intimate ceremony with just two of our very best friends + all the munchkins!” she wrote.

“To my husband @grant—hackett thank you for making me feel so special and loved. I cannot wait to continue doing life with you and growing old together.”

Hackett, who is now CEO of the investment company Generation Life in Melbourne, married singer Candice Alley in 2007. In 2009 she gave birth to twins, Jagger and Charlize, and they divorced in 2013.

Hackett has fought some personal battles with his health and some publicised meltdowns, but the Olympics great credited Fletcher and his finance career with helping rebuild his life.

He said he turned to US swimming great Michael Phelps, now an active mental health advocate, and the American’s wife Nicole, after checking out of a 30-day detox program in Malibu in March 2017. He spent two months at Phelps’ Arizona home working on his recovery before flying home to Australia in June 2017.

Hackett said Fletcher, his partner of three years, had been a huge support.

“This might sound a bit selfish but Sharlene keeps me calm,” he said in May. “She’s a great supporter.

“She just gets me and that makes life easy.”