Jules Neale is smiling in the face of heartbreak, even after her world came crashing down following the breakdown of her marriage to AFL star Lachie Neale.
The former WAG, 35, who recently relocated to Western Australia with her two children amid the shock split, was spotted for the first time since her move to Perth on Friday, looking relaxed as she chatted and laughed with friends at an outdoor venue.
Beaming as she tucked into her meal, the blonde influencer looked worlds away from the teary-eyed woman seen last month in Brisbane as she stopped by a cafe while packing up her former marital home.
At one stage, Jules began explaining something to her female friends with enthusiasm, gesturing passionately as she chatted away.
Her friends – one of whom brought their daughter along – listened intently as Jules spilled her heart across the table.
Jules dressed casually for the occasion, sporting a plunging black top and bike shorts, paired with layered gold necklaces and matching stud earrings.
Jules Neale is smiling in the face of heartbreak, even after her world came crashing down following the breakdown of her marriage to AFL star Lachie Neale
The former WAG, 35, who recently relocated to Western Australia with her two children amid the shock split, was spotted for the first time since her move to Perth on Friday, looking relaxed as she chatted and laughed with friends at an outdoor venue
Beaming as she tucked into her meal, she looked worlds away from the teary-eyed woman seen last month in Brisbane as she stopped by a cafe while packing up her former marital home
At one stage, Jules began explaining something to her female friends with enthusiasm, gesturing passionately as she chatted away
Jules dressed casually for the occasion, sporting a plunging black top and matching bike shorts
Prior to the catch-up, Jules was seen parking her car nearby and carrying her belongings in a brown suede tote
Lachie and Jules Neale are pictured here in happier times
She accentuated her natural beauty with blush and mascara, slicking her flaxen hair back into a tight ponytail.
Jules’s return to her home state of WA follows the end of her seven-year marriage, which was confirmed over Christmas amid reports of an alleged affair involving Lachie and Jules’s former best friend Tess Crosley.
As pressure mounted, Lachie stepped down as Brisbane Lions’ co-captain on January 2, admitting at a press conference that he’d let his family down, but refusing to comment when a journalist asked directly if he’d cheated on his wife.
When her husband was fronting the cameras, Jules was quietly settling into a new routine with her children Piper and Freddie in Perth, the city where she used to be a well-known hairdresser before Lachie’s career brought her to the east coast.
With the couple’s five-bedroom former home in Seven Hills now packed up, Lachie has moved into an apartment elsewhere in Brisbane as he prepares for what could well be his last season with the Lions.
Meanwhile, there were several developments in the Neale saga this week – starting with the fresh revelation that Jules had discovered the alleged affair between Tess and Lachie after another Lions WAG had caught the pair in a car together.
After seeking advice from another woman from the Lions clique, this unnamed WAG then told Jules what she had witnessed, triggering the end of the Neales’ marriage.
Since then, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Daily Mail that the secret relationship was going on for three months before Tess and Lachie were rumbled.
She paired her look with layered gold necklaces and matching stud earrings
She accentuated her natural beauty with blush and mascara, slicking her flaxen hair back into a tight ponytail
Jules’s return to WA follows the end of her seven-year marriage, which was confirmed over Christmas amid reports of an alleged affair involving Lachie and Jules’s former best friend Tess Crosley
An insider says that Lachie and Tess’s alleged affair went on for three months – starting around the time of the 2025 AFL Grand Final. (Pictured: Tess, left, and her husband Ben Crosley, second from right, with Lachie, second from left, and Jules Neale, right, after the game)
The split sent shockwaves through the AFL world and prompted Lachie to step down as Brisbane Lions co-captain
And News.com.au further reported that the two lovers may have used the gym they both attended, Total Fusion in Newstead, as a meeting place.
A fellow gym-goer said: ‘I go to Total Fusion gym, where Lachie is a member, and for months he has been very affectionate… with that Tess woman.
‘They did not try to hide it… I assumed he was separated because of it.’
The saga had kicked off on December 22 when Jules took to Instagram to deny a report by Herald Sun columnist Jackie Epstein that suggested she was ‘working through’ unspecified issues with Lachie.
‘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.’
Jules vacated the marital home over Christmas, bound for WA with the couple’s two children
With the couple’s former home in Seven Hills packed up, Lachie has moved into an apartment elsewhere in Brisbane as he prepares for what could well be his last season with the Lions
There were several developments in the Neale saga this week – starting with the fresh revelation that Jules had discovered the alleged affair between Tess and Lachie after another Lions WAG had caught the pair in a car together
This triggered weeks of speculation about the state of their marriage – with Tess emerging as a central figure after Jules publicly ordered she remove photos of her and Lachie at the AFL grand final from her social media account.
‘Take these down, you idiot, you’re embarrassing yourself,’ she wrote in a since-deleted comment.
Lachie would later confirm he and Jules had split during his press conference at Brighton Homes Arena, during which he also relinquished his co-captaincy.
‘While I will not 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,’ he said.
The saga began back in December when Jules took to Instagram to deny a report that suggested she was ‘working through’ unspecified marital issues with Lachie
This triggered weeks of speculation about the state of their marriage – with Tess emerging as a key figure after Jules publicly ordered she remove photos of her and Lachie from social media
Lachie would later confirm he and Jules had split during a press conference at Brighton Homes Arena on January 2, during which he also relinquished his co-captaincy of the Brisbane Lions
‘While I will not 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,’ he said
‘I accept this as a consequence of my actions and I need to focus on rebuilding the trust with Jules as the future well-being of our children remains our number one priority.
‘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.’
The conference escalated when a reporter asked: ‘Did you cheat on your wife?’
‘I cannot address those rumours,’ the star midfielder shot back.
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