Teammates have rallied around Australian cricket star Nathan Lyon after his secret relationship with a glamorous blonde real estate agent was revealed.
Top bowler Lyon, 30, walked out on the WACA ground in Perth on Friday with friend Mitchell Marsh’s arm draped around him.
Lyon was caught kissing Perth woman Emma McCarthy, 26, in a series of photographs obtained by MailOnline.
A source close to Lyon insisted it was not an affair because the year-long relationship with the mother of his children had run its course some time ago.
Marsh dated the same woman back in 2010.
Meantime, the ‘devastated’ mother of Lyon’s two children, Melissa Waring, sought comfort in family and was sent flowers by friends.
Nathan Lyon walked out for play on day two of the Third Ashes Test match between Australia and England with Mitchell Marsh’s arm draped around him on Friday morning
‘Blindsided’: Melissa Waring, the mother of Nathan Lyon’s two children, took comfort in the support of family and friends on Friday
It’s understood Ms Waring and her family will soon head on holidays to get out of the spotlight. Her mother, Lise, answered the door on her behalf
Special delivery! A large box of flowers arrived at Melissa Waring’s home in Port Hacking, south of Sydney
‘I think seeing his car (pictured) sitting in the drive way and his washing sitting here, that probably gives you enough of an idea’
‘We have two small children I have to put first… I’m the one being f***ed around here,’ an emotional Ms Waring told Daily Mail Australia late last night.
Ms Waring claimed Cricket Australia had informed her about the pictures of the pair just hours before the story broke.
Asked whether she was still with Lyon, she said: ‘I think seeing his car sitting in the drive way and his washing sitting here, that probably gives you enough of an idea.
‘We have two small children who I have to put first and unfortunately at the end of the day I’m the one who’s being f**ked around here.’
Lyon’s car still sat parked in the driveway on Friday. The floral delivery came after a source close to the bowler insisted: ‘It is 100% not an affair.’
‘It’s an open and committed relationship and everyone is aware of it, but it is being kept private for the sake of Nathan’s kids.’
Ms Waring told MailOnline she was concerned about saying any more ‘because it could affect me at a later date if I need to go to court.’
She added: ‘I can’t jeopardise anything happening to my kids, this is hard enough.’
Happy families: Ms Waring’s public displays of support for Lyon on social media and family snapshots had suggested the relationship was ongoing
Ms Waring posted this photo on Instagram of her with other Australian cricket WAGs. Asked whether she was still with her long-term partner, she told MailOnline: ‘I think seeing his car sitting in the drive way and his washing sitting here, that probably gives you enough of an idea’
Ms Waring’s public displays of support for Lyon on social media and family snapshots had suggested the relationship was ongoing.
She had posted a picture of the family of four together on social media as recently as Wednesday.
She captioned the image on her Instagram page with the words: ‘Can’t believe it’s this time of the year again! #Christmas #family.’
Her profile on both Facebook and Instagram feature her with Lyon and her pages are peppered with references to Lyon as ‘daddy’, ‘our man’ and ‘our world’.
She has also posted other photos of her posing with a group of other WAGs, or ‘Girls on Tour’ as they prefer to be called.
But last Sunday, a different picture emerged as Miss McCarthy, who has previously dated Lyon’s Australia teammate Mitchell Marsh, 26, was spotted driving to Lyon’s hotel, Perth’s Crown Metropol, picking him up in her $120,000 BMW 420i sports coupé and heading to her upmarket four-bedroom home in Mount Pleasant, Perth.
Coupled up: Miss McCarthy picked up the cricket hero in her $120,000 BMW 420i sports coupe and the pair exchanged a fist bump – and a kiss
Commenting on MailOnline’s exclusive photos of Australian bowler Lyon and his lover, the source said: ‘Nathan and Emma are in a committed relationship, Nathan is very much in love with Emma’
Love match: The source said Lyon and Miss McCarthy (pictured kissing during their meeting before the crucial Ashes Third Test) are not having an affair because Lyon’s relationship with his partner of ten years, Ms Waring is over
Making each other happy: Miss McCarthy and Lyon smile together as they are pictured driving to her Perth home this week
The pair stayed indoors for several hours, before Miss McCarthy drove him back to the hotel.
Later in the evening they enjoyed dinner with her parents at their home, returning back to her home, where they ended up spending the night.