Radio presenter and author Bridget Hustwaite has declared she’s the real winner ahead of the Grand Final having left her relationship with Fremantle defender Oscar McDonald.
The couple’s messy split played out over social media in March with Hustwaite saying she was subjected to “blatant bullying” and “disrespect” after he took a not so veiled swipe at her.
Hustwaite’s TikTok, posted on Friday night, was pointed and clear, despite not naming McDonald, saying she was thankful she was “no longer in that environment” and even with a premiership he’s “still a loser”.
She started off by referring to Lachie Neale’s overturned suspension and that a lot of people are rightfully “pissed off”.
“So I know there was a decision that was overturned regarding the AFL grand final that a lot of people are rightfully annoyed about, pissed off, especially the girls who band together,” Hustwaite said.
“Think about it like this, this is the way to go about it.
“You can be a premiership player, you can become a premiership player, but you’re still a loser.
“You can hold a medal, you can hold a cup, whatever, but winning is being able to leave. Winning is waking up every day and being like thank god I’m not in that anymore, like thank f…ing god.
“I think winning is being able to stand on your values, and stay true to yourself and say no I’m not going to waste anymore time with someone who disrespects me, lies to me, betrays me, withholds information and behaviour. If you knew, you would leave or you never would have been there in the first place.
“I think winning is knowing that it’s not you and it’s a pattern and it’s a pattern they have confirmed and it’s a pattern other people have also confirmed.
“That validation is the real victory as far as I’m concerned.”
Hustwaite continued that she had chosen a better life and women should hold higher standards for themselves.
“So just remember that, take a moment for your standards and celebrate that,” she said.
“Celebrate that today, celebrate it tomorrow and every damn day after because grand finals come and go. I can’t f…in tell you who was in the grand final team last year or five years ago.
“At the end of the day you have won if you’ve left that and you are building a life for yourself that is so much better.
“So you can become a premiership player, you can be a premiership player but you’re still a loser.”
Hustwaite has written a book about living with endometriosis titled How to Endo and last year penned Figuring Out 30, on turning 30.
That’s where the sledging started with McDonald posting a picture of himself celebrating the milestone age surrounded by his bros with the caption: “30. Tough age apparently.”
That was all coming despite Hustwaite posting from an emergency department hospital bed after going in for a bowel obstruction following a cyst rupture from endo complications.
Hustwaite showed a little more empathy at the time, explaining that she had left Fremantle and returned to Melbourne to focus on herself.
“I couldn’t keep abandoning myself, my health and my career,” she wrote.
“Flew out 60 times between Perth and Melbourne throughout that period so really tried.
“No regrets because I know my heart, what I bring to all of my relationships and what I stand for both publicly and privately. Very happy and lucky to be home in Melbourne with people who share the same morals/values.”