- Ex-NRL, Wallabies star was accused of cheating in 2014
- Allegedly had a fling with TV star Danielle Meagher
- Tuqiri has never admitted to the allegations
The TV star who claimed she had an affair with married NRL great Lote Tuqiri has made stunning new claims about how they met – and the moment their risky romance fell apart.
After starring for the Brisbane Broncos and Wallabies, the cross-code superstar was playing rugby in Ireland in 2013 when allegations emerged that he had a month-long fling with Danielle Meagher, who is also known as ‘Dr Botox’ and starred on the TV shows Dublin Wives and Celebrity Big Brother.
Tuqiri – who has never admitted to the allegations – reportedly met Meagher, who ran a botox clinic, at a trendy nightspot named Krystle and told her his marriage to wife Rebekka was over.
Now Meagher has dished the dirt on what she claims happened in her new book, Diary of a Botox Bitch, offering a more detailed account of what happened when they met.
‘The truth was, I felt an instant chemistry with this man that I couldn’t explain,’ wrote Meagher, who said she was ‘mesmerised’ by the former rugby league and rugby union international, who she says told her he and his wife had drifted apart from each other.
‘I decided to get straight to the point. ‘Are you married Lote?’ He looked me directly in the eyes, his expression sincere: ‘No Danielle I’m not’.’
Former reality TV star turned author Danielle Meagher (pictured) has dished the dirt on what she claims was her extramarital affair with one of Australia’s greatest footy players
Meagher claims she and Lote Tuqiri (pictured with wife Rebekka) had a fling when he was playing rugby in Ireland in 2013
The startling details of the pair’s alleged romance feature Meagher (pictured) admitting she was ‘mesmerised’ by the former Brisbane Broncos and Wallabies star
Meagher also described waking up next to the 45-year-old after they allegedly spent the night together.
‘I turned to look at him and he was of course still asleep. How had I managed to find such an exotic mysterious looking man in Dublin?’ she wrote.
‘He had a Polynesian tattoo at the top of his arm on his shoulder, which he later told me was his mother’s totem pole from his tribe in Fiji. Can you imagine anything as exotic as having your mother’s totem pole tattooed on your body?
‘Growing up in Ireland in the ’80s, the only thing tattooed on most of us was the red mark of a wooden spoon courtesy of an Irish mammy!’
Meagher then detailed how she found out that Tuqiri was still with Rebekka when her brothers recognised the Aussie star’s name and investigated his background.
She wrote that one of them told her, ‘He’s married, you know … I saw him six weeks ago at Cinnamon restaurant with his wife and two kids.’
The former TV star then claims the Aussie denied any wrongdoing when she confronted him about his marriage, but he eventually confessed when her friends contacted his wife.
Tuqiri was pictured reuniting with Rebekka in February 2014, two months after the scandal broke.
The Irish reality star alleges Tuqiri lied when she asked him if he was married – before she found out about his wife through her brothers
Tuqiri (pictured playing for the Wallabies) and his wife put the scandal behind them and had their third child together more than a year after the ‘fling’ first made headlines
The couple were seen picking up their sons Samson and Imosi from school and returning home.
In April 2015, Tuqiri and his wife revealed the happy news that they were expecting their third child, with the footy star posting a photo of the couple smiling along with the caption, ‘Number 3 on the way.’
However, Rebekka no longer features on Tuqiri’s Instagram page.
The Fijian-born winger played a total of 167 NRL games, splitting his time between the Broncos, Wests Tigers and South Sydney.
He won the 1999 premiership with Brisbane and returned to win another grand final with the Rabbitohs in 2014.
Tuqiri made headlines when he defected to rugby union in 2003, playing with the NSW Waratahs before winning selection with the Wallabies and going on to play 67 Tests for Australia, scoring 30 tries.
His return to the NRL in 2010 was a success as he was soon selected to play another stint with the Kangaroos national team.
