How Jules Neale is rewriting the rule book for overcoming 'betrayal'

OPINION -- When Jules Neale took to Instagram to comment on rumours surrounding her marriage to AFL star Lachie Neale, she couldn't have imagined she would soon become a poster girl for scorned women everywhere.

Neale, 32, a former beauty salon owner and hairstylist, made headlines in December when she commented on media reports about her marriage on her Instagram Story.

"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.

"All I can do now is try to heal and do what's best for my children.

"Thank you for the love and support."

Within days of the statement, Neale added fuel to speculation about what caused the split when she commented on a now-deleted post on former friend Tess Crosley's Instagram page.

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"Take these down, you idiot, you're embarrassing yourself," Neale wrote under photos that showed her former best friend celebrating Lachie Neale's Brisbane Lions AFL Grand Final last September.

The images showed Crosley, her husband Ben and the Neales on the field.

Tess Crosley's knee seemed to be touching Lachie Neale, while their respective spouses stood to the other side.

The two couples were reportedly firm friends and often appeared on each other's social media accounts.

While there has been no confirmation anything untoward happened between Tess and Lachie, the footy star announced during a press conference in January that he would quit his co-captaincy of the Lions, having "let my family down".

It would be easy to view Jules's Instagram post and comment as the actions of a woman scorned.

She could have let the early reports about their marriage slide.

The Neales were not that well known on the national stage – AFL fans excepted – and the breakdown of their marriage might have gone largely unnoticed without her posts.

But in the weeks since then, her actions have proven to be a masterclass for women everywhere when it comes to rewriting the rule book of betrayal.

You see, while staying quiet may have kept the breakdown of their marriage out of the public eye – and left Lachie largely off the hook – she has shown women how to regain their power after a relationship breakdown.

Jules first met her future husband when they were both 18.

Lachie had just been drafted into the AFL with Fremantle Football Club in Perth.

He reportedly told Perth Now in 2019, "The first time I met Jules I was 18 and I asked [teammate Matthew Pavlich] to introduce me to her.

"He came back and said 'She's not interested in an 18-year-old Harry Styles lookin' kid.'"

They reconnected about six years later, became engaged in 2017 and married the following year, before moving from Perth to Brisbane in 2019 when he was signed by the Lions.

They welcomed daughter Piper in September 2021 and son Freddie in December 2024.

Lachie touched on the sacrifices his wife had made in an emotional acceptance speech after winning the coveted Brownlow Medal in 2020.

"My wife Jules, she's an amazing human being," he said.

"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."

By the time news broke that the couple had split, Jules Neale had already packed up her two children and moved back to Perth to be with her family.

It is there she reemerged on Instagram on December 16 to wish Freddie a happy first birthday and alluded to what she had been going through.

"This little man, and his beautiful big sister have taught me what real love, courage, and joy look like," she wrote.

"Thank you for choosing me, for holding me up without even knowing it."

Early in the new year she was back on Instagram, telling her followers, "This is your sign to get the girls together and manifest your 2026 vibes".

Two weeks later, it was announced she had signed with a talent management company One DayDream.

Then this week she jetted off to Melbourne for the Australian Open, where she looked pretty in pink.

It was at the Open that Jules spoke out for the very first time.

"The last few months have been a lot but being back in Perth with family has really helped me reset for 2026," she told the Herald Sun.

She posed up a storm for photographs and beamed with her close friend, ignoring the scandal that has followed her since last year.

Just what Jules does next is anyone's guess.

According to her Instagram, she worked as a hairstylist at Brisbane's Soja Studios.

She has since added Vela Hair to her bio. A link to its website says it is opening soon.

Then there is her burgeoning career as an influencer, which she will be able to build on her newfound fame.

Before news broke of her and Lachie's split, she reportedly had a modest Instagram following of about 20,000.

Today, she has 136,000 followers, and was busy tagging everyone from her makeup artist and hairdresser to the designer of her outfit and the hotel where she stayed during her trip to Melbourne.

What is clear is that Jules did not take what she called an "unimaginable betrayal" lying down.

Instead, she got up, dusted herself off and moved across the country to carve out a new life for herself and her children.

In doing so, she is showing a generation of women they can too.

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