Ben Crosley, the husband of the woman at the centre of Jules and Lachie Neale’s very public marriage breakdown has posted publicly for the first time since the scandal broke.
Ben, who is married to, and has a young son with Tess Crosley, took to Instagram on Tuesday night declaring he is “starting 2026 right” in Bali.
He reposted a number of stories, including a topless picture of himself with friends, on the popular holiday island as they train at luxury gym Bambu Fitness in Uluwatu.
Tess Crosley, a practising Mormon from Brisbane, became embroiled in the Neale saga in late December after it was reported she fell out with Jules amid an “unimaginable betrayal” within the Neales’ marriage.
Jules, a successful hairdresser and entrepreneur from Perth who has two young children with Lachie, has since wiped both her husband and her former close friend Tess from her Instagram page, with all photos of the pair deleted.
Jules also commented on a recent Instagram post of Tess, calling her out for not deleting the pictures of the Brisbane Lions’ grand final celebrations in September, which contained both her and Lachie, the AFL club’s now former captain.
“Take these (pictures) down, you idiot you’re embarrassing yourself,’’ Jules wrote in a comment that has since been deleted.
Tess has been spotted back in Queensland in recent days following a getaway with her son in northern NSW at Christmas time.
She spent the festive season enjoying some relaxation as poolside snaps and sweeping hinterland views painted the picture of a luxurious escape with a number of friends and their children – seemingly ignoring the swirling rumours.
On Friday Queensland Police confirmed officers attended the home of Tess and Ben to take possession of a number of items during a welfare check on December 30.
“There is no criminal matter being investigated as such no further information will be provided at this time,” a Queensland Police spokesperson told news.com.au.
At this stage it is unknown what items were seized from the home.
Images of the police visit to the couple’s home show Ben speaking to police at the door of his home while his wife Tess is pictured watching on from behind the curtain of an upstairs window.
Other images taken from outside the couple’s home show a police officer carrying a long black case and long fabric bags into the property, which would appear to be for transporting the items that were taken from the house.
The Lions for the first time addressed the private matter on Friday – almost two weeks after Neale’s wife Jules first went public in saying she had been “betrayed”.
The club said in a statement the star footballer was dealing with a “challenging personal period”.
“I understand the interest in my personal life, but these are personal matters and I won’t be answering any questions on that topic today,” Neale said when he fronted the media.
“I can confirm though with regret that 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 that have let down those that are closest to me. And for that I am deeply sorry.”
When asked bluntly if he had cheated on his wife, Neale responded: “No I can’t address those rumours”.
He answered another question by saying he has “regrets” about his personal life.
When asked if he is hoping to fix his marriage, Neale walked off by saying: “I won’t comment on that, thank you”.
He looked briefly overcome with emotion when explaining his decision to step down as captain.
“I’m extremely disappointed in myself and I’ve put plans in place to do the work on myself so I can be the best version of myself moving forward,” he said.
“Given the personal matters that I am currently working through I have made the decision to stand down as co-captain and from the leadership group effective immediately.
“Being the captain of the Lions has been a huge honour, but it’s time to move forward with a fresh start. I spoke through this with the club over the last week or two and it was a pretty easy decision for me.”
Neale also made another eyebrow-raising comment during the press conference when he failed to guarantee his future with the Lions beyond this season.
His contract with Brisbane expires at the end of the 2026 season and speculation is already swirling he may look to return to Western Australia.