It’s the sex scandal that has rocked the macho world of Aussie rules football to its core – and had a nation transfixed with every twist and sordid turn.
One of Australia’s favourite sporting heroes, Australian rules football star Lachie Neale, was caught in a compromising position in a car with his wife’s best friend.
Since then, it’s become the soap opera from which no one dare look away as every day brings a new revelation on what the superstar’s stunning wife Jules described as an ‘unimaginable betrayal’.
That betrayal was the news that Brisbane Lions captain Neale, 32, had been playing away with former Mormon missionary Tess Crosley – a glamorous married neighbour who had been one of his wife’s best friends.
The love cheats were reportedly caught in a clinch by another teammate’s partner.
It led to the spectacular collapse of Neale and Jules’s seven-year marriage.
The couple spent Christmas apart as Jules, 35, jetted more than 1,600 miles back to her hometown of Perth in Western Australia with their two young children and she has remained there ever since.
While insiders in Neale’s camp claimed the tryst was a one-off encounter, the Daily Mail learned the secret affair is alleged to have begun more than three months ago.
Australia is transfixed after one of the biggest sporting icons, Lachie Neale, was caught in a compromising position in a car with his wife’s best friend, Tess Crosley
Pictured: Tess, left, and her husband Ben Crosley, second from right, with Lachie, second from left, and Jules Neale, right, after the AFL Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in September
Lachie Neale and his wife Jules are pictured during happier times. The fallout from Lachie’s alleged affair with Jules’ friend Tess led to the collapse of their seven-year marriage
Tess – pictured here in a skimpy bikini and cowboy hat – was best friends with Jules
Jules, a hairdresser and influencer, said that she had suffered the ‘ultimate betrayal’
And it was a tell-tale encounter at the scene of one of Neale’s greatest sporting triumphs which gave away the first clue.
Back in September Neale, one of his Aussie rules’ most decorated players, made a seemingly miraculous recovery from a torn calf muscle to come on as a super sub to help his team to victory over Geelong in the AFL Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After the match he lined up with Jules along with Tess and her finance director husband Ben, 36, as he showed off his winner’s medal on the pitch.
An image posted on Tess’s Instagram page shows a curiously intimate moment as she cuddles up to Neale, with their legs touching at the knee, while Jules is at the far side of the frame.
As details of the affair emerged, furious Jules pointed an accusing finger at Tess when she demanded she remove the images in a since-deleted public outburst saying furiously: ‘Take these down, you idiot you’re embarrassing yourself.’
Jules, a hairdresser and influencer, went on to dismiss early reports that the couple were working to patch up their marriage – by heartbreakingly revealing she had been the victim of a cruel deception.
She wrote on her social media page: ‘I want to make it very clear that I am not “working through” anything.
‘I have been betrayed in the most unimaginable way. All I can do now is to heal and do what’s best for my children.’
It was not until January 2 that Neale publicly acknowledged his wrongdoing as he announced he had quit his leadership role at the club and apologised for his off-field indiscretions.
Just days before returning to training ahead of the upcoming new season he said in a quaking voice from his team’s headquarters: ‘I can confirm that with regret, Jules and I have now separated.
‘While I won’t go into specifics, I can say that I have let my family down, and I apologise for my actions, which have hurt those closest to me – and for that, I am deeply sorry.
‘I accept that this is a consequence of my actions, and I need to focus on rebuilding that trust with Jules as the future well-being of our children remains our number one priority.
‘I’m extremely disappointed in myself, and I have put plans in place and measures in place to do the work on myself so that I can be the best version of myself moving forward.
Jules and Tess have joked in a Tiktok they made together about their close friendship
And then joked too about the closeness of their husbands. The friends and neighbours have spent a huge amount of time together in recent years – but all that has come to an abrupt end
Former best friends Tess and Jules are pictured biting down on Lachie’s AFL winner’s medal
Jules (right) and Tess (left) were so close before the scandal that they took holidays together
‘Given the personal matters that I am currently working through, I have made the decision to stand down as co-captain and from the leadership group, effective immediately.
‘Having been a leader and captain of the Lions has been an honour, but it’s time for the club to move forward with a fresh start.’
He added: ‘I understand as a public figure that there is interest in my personal life. However, I do ask (that) the privacy of Jules and my children be respected as we work through our new situation and the next chapter of our lives.’
Asked directly if he had cheated on his wife, Neale said: ‘I cannot address those rumours.’
Jules returned to Western Australia in the run-up to Christmas and there was no sign of Neale as she posted a photograph of their baby son Freddie celebrating his first birthday.
Jules, who is also the mother of four-year-old daughter Piper, wrote on Instagram: ‘Turning one today. This little man, and his beautiful big sister have taught me what real love, courage, and joy look like.
‘You’re the sweetest soul Freddie bear. Thank you for choosing me, for holding me up without even knowing it. I’m so lucky to be your mumma and I love you beyond words x.’
Meanwhile the couple already appear to be preparing to sell up their $2.43million (£1.8million) home in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Seven Hills.
Removal vans have been in to take away furniture and Neale has quit the property and moved into a bachelor pad apartment in the city where he has already been spotted entertaining friends.
At the Crosley’s nearby home police took away a number of items after visiting the property for a welfare check on December 30.
Tess, who is no longer wearing her wedding ring, spent Christmas with her young son on the Gold Coast and stayed at a private property near Byron Bay after visiting family and friends.
She posted images of herself in a bikini and cowboy hat and celebrating her 30th birthday at an upmarket winery in Adelaide. She has since returned home.
When the Daily Mail approached her this week as she visited a cosmetic clinic and asked if she would like to comment on the relationship, Tess replied: ‘No, I have to make an appointment.’
She declined to say whether she was back home with her husband ‘trying to work it out’ saying: ‘No comment… thank you, bye, see ya.’
Husband Ben, meanwhile, travelled to Bali with several of his friends over the New Year. The finance director, who works for the Hong Kong-based New Heritage Investment company and is thought to own properties in Indonesia, was seen smiling for a shirtless photo with two of his pals.
Tess, who works as a dental hygienist, is thought to have married Ben in 2017.
Jules was said to have been left devastated after learning of the affair from a fellow WAG.
The conflicted woman is reported to have debated what to do before seeking advice from another player’s partner then deciding to break the news to Jules.
The revelation appears to have brought a dramatic end to what had appeared to be a perfect marriage.
Neale and Jules both grew up in Perth and first met as teenagers – with Jules first rejecting his overtures for a date.
In an interview in 2019, Neale told how he had asked a friend to introduce her but he returned saying: ‘She’s not interested in an 18-year-old Harry Styles lookin’ kid.’
It was six years before they reconnected and found they hit it off.
The couple got engaged in 2017 and married the following year.
They relocated to Brisbane after Neale switched teams from Fremantle and signed with the Lions in 2019 before helping to revive the team’s fortunes with back-to-back premiership wins in 2024 and 2025 after winning the last of their previous three titles in 2003.
A year after the move, Neale told of the key role Jules played in his success after he won the first of two prestigious AFL player of the year awards in 2020.
He had told how she had put aside her own dreams of becoming a successful businesswoman to support his career while quitting her hometown and moving to the other side of the country.
Tess, who is no longer wearing her wedding ring, spent Christmas with her young son on the Gold Coast and stayed at a private property near Byron Bay after visiting family and friends
Jules was said to have been left devastated after learning of the affair from a fellow WAG
The couple already appear to be preparing to sell up their $2.43million (£1.8million) home in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Seven Hills
In an emotional speech, Neale said at the time: ‘My wife Jules, she’s an amazing human being.
‘Not many people probably know but she owned a salon in Perth before we decided to move to Brisbane. She had to sell that to come over here and follow my dreams.
‘She was doing very well for herself over there but she always puts me ahead of herself when she shouldn’t have to.
‘She’s the most selfless person I know and my biggest support, so thank you very much Jules, I love you.’
After winning again in 2023, he went on to describe Jules as ‘his rock’.
She has now unfollowed her husband on Instagram and removed images of the couple together as the fallen star faces an uncertain future.
