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’.

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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.

Lachie Neale is spotted collecting some personal things from the home he shared with wife Jules Neale
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Tess Crosley, a former close friend of Jules Neale
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One of Australia’s favourite sporting heroes, Lachie Neale (left), was caught in a compromising position in a car with his wife’s best friend, Tess Crosley (right)

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
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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. The scandal led to the spectacular collapse of their seven-year marriage
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Lachie Neale and his wife Jules. The scandal led to the spectacular collapse of their seven-year marriage

Tess Crosley poses in skimpy bikini and cowboy hat
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Tess Crosley poses in skimpy bikini and cowboy hat

Jules, a hairdresser and influencer, went on to dismiss early reports that the couple were working to patch up their marriage
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Jules, a hairdresser and influencer, went on to dismiss early reports that the couple were working to patch up their marriage

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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 Neale
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Tess Crosley
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Jules and Tess in a Tiktok they made together

Asked directly if he had cheated on his wife, Neale said: 'I cannot address those rumours'
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Asked directly if he had cheated on his wife, Neale said: ‘I cannot address those rumours’

Jules (right) returned to Western Australia in the run up to Christmas and there was no sign of Neale
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Jules (right) returned to Western Australia in the run up to Christmas and there was no sign of Neale

Neale and Jules (right) both grew up in Perth and first met as teenagers - with Jules first rejecting his overtures for a date