Former Brisbane Lions captain Lachie Neale has broken his silence on social media, publishing selfies of himself and his children on Instagram, in the wake of the breakdown of his marriage with his wife Julie.
The 32-year-old appears to have travelled to Western Australia to spend time with his family, as his eldest daughter, Piper, attended her first day at kindergarten on Monday.
His wife, Julie, also published snaps of herself and their daughter sharing a hug. She captioned the photo: ‘Big girl’s first day of Kindy,’ while adding a teary-eyed emoji.
Neale smiled as he also posted a snap of himself with his son Freddie, who turned one in December.
The Lions star has been jetting back and forth from Brisbane to WA to be with his family, with the Lions having begun their pre-season preparations on the Sunshine Coast last week.
It comes after the 32-year-old announced at the beginning of January that he and Julie would be separating after eight years of marriage, amid rumours that they were experiencing a breakdown in their marriage.
The dual Brownlow Medallist has since moved into his own apartment in Brisbane after the couple placed their $2.43million luxurious Seven Hills family home up for sale earlier this month.
Julie is understood to have moved back to her home in Western Australia, where she has been sharing glimpses into how she has been rebuilding since the couple parted ways.
The freelance hairstylist has recently signed with a new management compan and has also been posting snaps on social media of herself enjoying the summer with her friends.
Last week, Julie was seen cheering on Aussie tennis player Alex de Minaur during his Australian Open defeat by Carlos Alcaraz. Julie stunned wearing a pink corset twinned with a pair of flowing long shorts, made by designer brand Viktoria & Woods, and took to social media to publish a series of pictures of herself and friend Gabby Morrone on Instagram.
She captioned the post: ‘Girls just wanna have fun… at the AO.’
During her time at Melbourne Park, she also told The Herald Sun: ‘The last few months have been a lot, but being back in Perth with family has really helped me reset for 2026.
‘I’m loving being back in Melbourne and watching another sport.’
In December, Julie took to social media to announce that she had been ‘betrayed in the most unimaginable way’.
‘I want to make it very clear that I am not “working through” anything,’ she wrote. ‘I have been betrayed in the most unimaginable way.’
Her friend, Tess Crosley, has become embroiled in the breakdown of their marriage, with Julie having hit out at her friend online, asking her to delete pictures of herself celebrating the Lions’ recent premiership victory, alongside Lachie and Tess’ husband Ben.
In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Julie told Tess: ‘Take these down, you idiot, you’re embarrassing yourself.’
Neale was due to attend a public Q&A live show alongside Brisbane star Dayne Zorko on the Sunshine Coast last week, which was being presented by the brand Footy Feast.
However, the show was postponed, with organisers telling this masthead that ticket sales were too low.
The show has now been rescheduled for March, but organisers confirmed that the two-time Lions premiership captain is now no longer set to appear in the rearranged Q&A.
