Lachie Neale quietly fled Queensland over Christmas, retreating to his family’s coastal hideaway in South Australia as his marriage to wife Jules continues to unravel in full public view.
The two-time Brownlow Medallist is understood to have spent the festive period at a private holiday home in Robe, far from the glare of Brisbane’s footy bubble and the growing storm surrounding his personal life, according to Adelaide Now.
Neale, who grew up in Kybybolite about 130 kilometres inland, was spotted leaving the property in a packed four-wheel drive on Saturday morning.
Back in Brisbane, the couple’s Seven Hills home remained empty on Christmas Day, with the pair spending the holidays in different states amid mounting signs their seven-year marriage has reached breaking point.
While Neale sought refuge in South Australia, his estranged wife was on the opposite side of the country.
Jules, a hairdresser and influencer, shared a cryptic Instagram story from Busselton Jetty in Western Australia on Christmas Eve, accompanied by a wounded heart emoji, confirming she had returned home to be with her family.
Lachie Neale quietly fled Queensland over Christmas, retreating to his family’s coastal hideaway in South Australia as his marriage to wife Jules continues to unravel in full public view. Both pictured in September
The separation has played out publicly over recent weeks, with Jules making a series of telling moves online.
She has removed the shared talent management company, TGI Sport, from her Instagram bio, cutting professional ties with the firm that manages both her and her AFL star husband.
Jules also deleted the contact details of her manager and now only lists her hairdressing business and children’s clothing label on her profile.
The change came after she made a stunning public declaration about the collapse of her marriage, denying reports she and Neale were quietly working through private issues.
‘I want to make it very clear that I am not working through anything. I have been betrayed in the most unimaginable way,’ she wrote in a now-deleted post.
‘All I can do now is to heal and do what’s best for my children.’
Within hours, every photo of her husband vanished from her Instagram account.
Jules has also found herself at the centre of a very public falling out with former close friend Tess Crosley, who recently appeared in grand final celebration photos alongside the couple.
Back in Brisbane, the couple’s Seven Hills home remained eerily empty on Christmas Day, with the pair spending the holidays in different states amid mounting signs their seven-year marriage has reached breaking pointÂ
Jules has also found herself at the centre of a very public falling out with former close friend Tess Crosley, who recently appeared in grand final celebration photos alongside the couple. Pictured L – R: Tess, Lachie, Tess’ husband Ben, Jules
In screenshots that later circulated online, Jules demanded Tess remove the images, writing: ‘Take these down, you idiot, you’re embarrassing yourself.’
The pair were previously inseparable, regularly holidaying together and even appearing in light-hearted TikTok videos alongside their husbands, with one clip showing the foursome joking about being ‘four best friends’.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Tess.
Adding further weight to rumours of a permanent split, a moving truck was recently seen parked in the driveway of the couple’s Brisbane home, fuelling speculation that Jules is preparing to relocate back to Western Australia.
The high-profile pair share two young children, four-year-old daughter Piper and baby son Freddie, who was born in December 2024.
Daily Mail has reached out for comment.Â
