Updated ,first published
Jules Neale has spoken for the first time since her marriage breakdown to Brisbane Lions player Lachie Neale made national headlines.
In a tell-all interview with Adelle Petropoulous on the Pretty Sure podcast, Jules alleges the AFL star cheated previously and that she felt pressure from the Lions to keep the scandal out of the press.
“The plan was to just tell the media that we were just working through marital issues,” Jules said, adding that the club’s justification was to protect her and the kids from the media. “I immediately felt like the people that were protecting him, or what was good for him, was no longer good for me,” she said.
The former couple have two children: Piper, 4, and Freddie, 1.
The interview comes at a time when the Sydney Swans sexual assault allegations have put a spotlight on the AFL’s culture and treatment of women.
The podcast episode began with a disclaimer that the episode was recorded before the Sydney Swans scandal.
On discovering the cheating
Jules suspects Lachie cheated with at least two separate women – the latest being her then-best friend, Tess Crosley.
“I guess it was an ongoing, four-month affair with my best friend – behind my back,” she said on the podcast.
“I actually didn’t find out about that until I moved back to Perth … I was told it was a kiss, and that’s all it was,” she said, adding that it was enough to leave the relationship since it wasn’t the first time he’d been unfaithful.
Jules said that the public notoriety of AFL players means they have more opportunity to cheat.
“A cheating footballer is such a stereotype,” she said.
Reclaiming the narrative
When the couple’s split was first made public in December last year, it was initially framed as if they were working through marital issues.
In a statement posted to her Instagram stories, Jules said: “I’m not working through anything … I have been betrayed in the most unimaginable way, and all I can do now is to heal and do what’s best for my children.”
On the podcast, Jules revealed that even after discovering the first infidelity, she stayed in the relationship for the sake of her family.
“People can make mistakes and I don’t want to break up our family … I did try and work on things,” Jules said, noting that she had been reassured it was a one-off incident.
“Leaving is hard and scary, but staying is as well.”
A new start
Jules moved to Perth with her kids “immediately” after finding out about the kiss between Lachie and Crosley.
It wasn’t until she arrived in Perth that she discovered the alleged affair had gone on much longer than she initially thought.
“Probably a good thing that I was interstate when I found out, it wouldn’t have been good if I was in the same town,” she said.
Jules said she remained silent for the sake of her kids – until now.
“There is going to be a day when they are old enough to read and they’ll get a phone and they can Google and see all these articles and crazy things about their parents … I want them to be proud of their mum standing up for herself.”
When asked if she had advice for women dating professional athletes, she laughed and warned them not to.
Jules then offered a more serious tip for any woman in a relationship: “Have your own bank account … and save some runaway money. I will never have joint finances with a man again.”
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Abby Seaman is a digital producer and lifestyle writer at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
