Footballer Sam Burgess faces an awkward conversation over the future of an F45 gym he owns with his estranged wife Phoebe’s family.
The rugby league star, 30, bought into the popular fitness franchise in a joint venture with Phoebe’s brother-in-law Gene Fairbanks.
Mr Fairbanks is married to Phoebe’s older sister Jemima.
Sam and older brother Luke, also an NRL star, once posed for photos with fans at the opening of the gym at Bowral, in southern New South Wales, in November 2015.
But little more than three years later and the high-profile couple has split, leaving a once united family to have a series of discussions about the future of their business.
In the wake of his split from wife Phoebe (right), Sam Burgess (centre) faces a very awkward conversation with his in-laws about the future of an F45 gym they own together (Pictured left is Sam’s sister-in-law Harriet Hooke)
Rugby league star Burgess (pictured) opened the F45 Training Bowral in 2015, as part of a joint venture with his wife and in-laws Gene and Jemima Fairbanks
Business records show F45 Training Bowral is owned by a group called S&G Active.
That company lists Sam Burgess as a director and his brother-in-law Gene Fairbanks as secretary, with both parties holding a 50 per cent share of the business.
When contacted on Friday about the future of the gym, Mr Fairbanks said he did not wish to comment.
During an interview at the time of its opening Burgess described his new investment as having a ‘good little vibe’.
‘It’s something different and it’s an opportunity to get fit and socialise,’ Burgess told the Southern Highlands News.
‘The gym is a great concept that has a team element and is a great little community.’
Since its opening all members of the Burgess and Fairbanks clans, including the four NRL star brothers Luke, Sam, George and Tom, have regularly attended the gym’s open days and milestone celebrations.
In one post from 2016, fellow South Sydney star Tom promoted the benefits of how the gym could improve his on-field performance.
‘Wow, now I know where the functional comes in! Session this morning at F45 Bowral – the quarterback session is great for agility and coordination,’ the youngest Burgess wrote.
Business records show the F45 Bowral is owned by Sam Burgess and Gene Fairbanks (above), a former rugby union star who is married to Phoebe’s sister Jemima
Mr Fairbanks (pictured with wife Jemima) has a 50 per cent share of the business, but did not wish to comment on the business when approached by Daily Mail Australia this week
Sam’s brother and fellow South Sydney star Tom (right) poses for a photo at the F45 Training Bowral with Jemima Fairbanks (left)
Daily Mail Australia understands no decisions have been made on the future of the joint venture between the two families.
Conversations over the future of the F45 come amid reported tensions between the Burgess clan and Phoebe.
Just weeks before Sam walked out on his wife and two children, his family posted a series of gushing social media tributes about their daughter and sister-in-law.
‘He is a little beauty. Thank you for bringing him into the world,’ Sam’s mum Julie posted below a photo of her new grandson ‘Billy’.
‘He is the sweetest little boy! Loved snuggles today,’ Joanna affectionately wrote on the same picture.
Less than three weeks later, Julie and Joanna no longer follow Phoebe on Instagram.
Sam and Phoebe married in 2015 and have two children together, with their youngest William born on December 9 last year
Sam walked out on his wife and two children in the weeks before Christmas and was last week seen carrying three overnight bags out of their $3.8million family home at Maroubra (pictured)
News of Sam and Phoebe’s split became public last week, with the high-profile rugby star pictured walking out of their family home carrying three overnight bags.
Just weeks earlier on December 9 the couple welcomed their second child, William ‘Billy’ Mark Burgess.
The English footy star met the then journalist at a dance concert for the late Swedish DJ Avicii in early 2014 and made their public debut as a couple at the Dally M awards in September that year.
In December 2015 the pair married in an exclusive ceremony at a property owned by Phoebe’s parents in the New South Wales Southern Highlands.
Sam and Phoebe bought a four-bedroom home at Maroubra for $3.8million in 2016 and had been living there together until recently.
It is believed Phoebe spent Christmas with her parents at their Bowral home, while Sam enjoyed lunch at the Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel with his large family.