Lachie Neale and new girlfriend Emma Field make glamorous public debut at Derby Day

AFL star Lachie Neale has finally made his public debut with new girlfriend Emma Field in a glamorous appearance at Derby Day.

The couple, who were first linked in August, arrived at the exclusive Birdcage enclosure at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Saturday, wearing matching black and white outfits.

Field wore a white blazer top with a black hemline and matching black buttons with a simple black fascinator. Neale opted for a black and white tux.

It marked the first public event the pair have attended together.

Field accompanied Lachie to the 2026 Brisbane Lion Club Awards earlier this month, though that was a private event.

She had also been spotted on the sidelines at many of his AFL games, as well as in the Lions locker room after the team’s Grand Final victory.

Lachie shared a photo of them celebrating together on Instagram, marking a milestone for the couple, who had previously kept a low profile on social media.

Lachie is still technically married to estranged wife Jules Neale, who announced in December 2025 that he had “betrayed” her and their marriage.

Rumours quickly emerged that Lachie had been having an affair with Jules’ former best friend Tess Crosley, who is married to Lachie’s friend Ben Crosley.

Though Lachie didn’t address the rumours, the scandal made headlines for months and Jules and Tess both went on to speak about their own experiences in separate podcast appearances this August.

Speaking to Adelle Petropoulos on the Pretty Sure podcast, Jules claimed Lachie had been unfaithful before and alleged this most recent betrayal was “an ongoing, four-month affair with my best friend, behind my back”.

In her chat on Daily Mail Australia’s The Debrief Podcast with Savanna Young, Crosley “took accountability” but didn’t name Lachie or divulge any details about the alleged affair.

He has remained quiet about the whole saga, instead focusing on footy and his romance with Field.

She recently shared a series of photos to Instagram capturing their “very fun couple of weeks,” where the star midfielder publicly dropped his sweet nickname for her in the comments: “Effy x”.

Field is an advertising professional from Queensland, and didn’t have a public profile until she began dating Lachie.

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