‘Accountability I can take, but’: Tess Crosley speaks on Lachie Neale scandal, gives shock update on her own marriage

Tess Crosley claims she has “taken accountability” for her role in the Lachie Neale affair saga, but insists there’s crucial context to how the scandal actually unfolded.

In an hour-long interview released on Thursday, Tess, 30, chose to keep the details of her side relatively brief, focusing instead on a surprising update regarding her current relationship with her husband, Ben Crosley.

“I definitely made some decisions I deeply regret,” Tess told Daily Mail Australia’s The Debrief podcast. “Accountability I can take, but there’s always context on how I got there.

“I think there were multiple things that happened in my life that took me to a place that was quite dark before everything started to happen and unfold.”

While she pointed to underlying issues in her ten-year marriage to husband Ben, Tess refused to divulge what went on behind closed doors out of respect for his privacy. 

Without naming Lachie directly, she framed their relationship as something that simply spiralled out of control.

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“It was just sort of like a friend that got way too close,” she claimed, before adding trailing, cryptic thoughts on the dynamic:

“I think I experienced love bombing, which I think definitely ... your brain chemicals ...”

Lachie’s ex and Tess’ former friend, Jules Neale, had sat down for her own tell-all interview on the Pretty Sure podcast on Wednesday, and alleged what happened was an “ongoing four-month affair with my best friend” that ended her marriage.

Tess did not confirm this nor reveal any details about the exact nature of her relationship with Lachie, but she did claim she was only friends with the couple for about a year before the scandal unfolded.

She also reflected on the moment the private matter became a national story, describing it as a “really dark time in my life”.

“Waiting for your lowest moment in your life to become public news is really scary, especially for somebody who has never experienced something like that before. It just felt like this ticking timebomb of hell,” she said.

“I have made some bad decisions I deeply regret, but I believe that I’m not a bad person.”

Tess wanted the public to understand that she was “a nobody” before this story came to light, and said she wouldn’t have been able to process everything if it wasn’t for her family, friends and husband’s support. 

“I also think it’s important for people to understand that I was a nobody, and I was in a high-profile scandal without all the high-profile help,” she said.

The mum-of-one considered getting PR help but said it was too expensive.

“Usually when you’re a high-profile you have organisations who pay for it for you or sponsor you,” she added.

Tess then touched on her relationship with her husband Ben. The pair met when she was 18, married when she was 21 and share a two-year-old son.

Despite the scandal taking centre stage, Tess said she was surprised at just how supportive he remained to her throughout the headlines. 

“Ben has been incredible, and I think that’s probably something that people wouldn’t expect, that my husband who was hurt would be so supportive of me and be so helpful,” she said.

Tess confirmed that she and Ben are no longer together romantically, nor are they legally divorced.

“We had a great marriage, but… certain things have happened in the past that I won’t go into detail about. I think we’ve both have come to a place where we’ve both made mistakes and both of us aren’t perfect, and we see it like that,” she said. 

“Rather than holding grudges and letting each other suffer, we’re wanting to build each other up and be the best role models we can be for our son.”

Tess said she and Ben are still “best friends” and hang out with their son like a family.

“We’re not together, like in a relationship kind of way, but we’ll just see what happens. We’re both healing in different ways.”

The pair are taking each day as it comes with their son remaining their main priority.

“We get along, we’re best friends and we love spending time together so I think we’re just happy doing that. We’ll see what the future holds.”

Nine.com.au has contacted Jules Neale, Lachie Neale and Ben Crosley for comment on this story.