Erin Patterson’s ex ‘suspected’ she once tried to poison him

The ex-husband of the Australian woman suspected of serving poison mushrooms to four of his relatives was also supposed to be at the deadly lunch — and believes his ex had previously tried to poison him as well, a report said Thursday.

Simon Patterson was on the guest list for ex-wife Erin Patterson’s July 29 lunch that ended with his parents and sister dying and his brother-in-law in critical condition, according to The Herald Sun.

He canceled “because he couldn’t make it at the last minute” — and was also wary of his ex, the report said.

He had even been in an induced coma for 16 days after suffering a mystery gut illness last spring after eating food Erin served, the report said.

“Simon suspected he had been poisoned by Erin,” a source close to him told the paper.

“There were times he had felt … a bit off and it coincided when he spent time with her.”

In fact, Simon wrote about his May 2022 stomach illness, from which he made a full recovery, on Facebook.

“I collapsed at home, then was in an induced coma for 16 days through which I had three emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus an additional planned operation,” he reportedly wrote.

“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live.”

His 48-year-old ex-wife has been accused of serving highly toxic death cap mushrooms to Simon’s parents, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian at a lunch at her home late last month.

Gail, 70, Don, 70, and Heather, 66 died last week and Ian was awaiting a liver transplant while in critical condition, according to the BBC. Erin Patterson has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing

Simon thought his earlier illness had stemmed from eating nightshade plants — an herb family which includes tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes and peppers, the source reportedly said. Unripened nightshade plants contain poisonous alkaloids which can be fatal.

He had been living with his now-deceased parents while recovering from the illness, a neighbor told the outlet.

“After his illness, there might have been a separation [from Erin],” the neighbor said. “We don’t know why they split up. They were a very private family.”

Erin and her children did not suffer any visible symptoms from the deadly meal.

She has denied any wrongdoing and had not been charged with the deaths, although an investigation was underway.

“I loved them and I’m devastated they are gone,” she told reporters of her former in-laws Monday.

“They were some of the best people I’ve ever met.”

Police were reportedly looking into whether a food dehydrator found in the trash was used to prepare the deadly meal and then discarded.

“We will be working closely with medical experts, with toxicologists and a whole range of experts throughout the course of this investigation in the hope that we can understand exactly what has gone on and provide some answers to family,” Victoria Police detective inspector for the homicide squad, Dean Thomas, said.

Death cap mushrooms are common in southeast Australia between March and May, and are not easily distinguished from edible mushrooms.

Symptoms of eating them include violent stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and death, health officials said, as they cautioned people to think twice before foraging wild fungi