Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale is the most talked-about man in football after winning the 2020 Brownlow Medal on Sunday night.
And during his acceptance speech, the 27-year-old paid tribute to his wife, Julie, who left behind her life in Perth so he could chase his dreams in the AFL.
Speaking to Perth Now about their relationship in September 2019, Lachie recalled how they were introduced by a friend almost a decade ago, when he was just 18.
Brutal beginning: Brownlow Medal winner Lachie Neale (left) has revealed how his wife, Julie (right), rejected him when they first met – only for them to fall in love six years later
Julie apparently rejected her future husband at the time because of his boyish looks.
‘The first time I met Jules I was 18 and I asked Pav [teammate Matthew Pavlich] to introduce me to her,’ Lachie said.
‘He came back and said, “She’s not interested in an 18-year-old Harry Styles lookin’ kid.”‘
It wasn’t until ‘about six years later’ that the pair reconnected and became romantically involved. They got engaged in 2017 and married the following year.
They relocated from Perth to Brisbane after getting married, when Lachie switched teams from Fremantle to the Lions after seven seasons.
How romantic! Julie apparently rejected her future husband when he was 18 because of his boyish looks. She changed her mind years later, and the couple eventually tied the knot
Ouch! Julie apparently thought Lachie (right, in 2013 when he was about 19 years old) looked too similar to Harry Styles – by which she presumably meant he looked too young for her
Happily ever after: They got engaged in 2017 and married the following year
The Brisbane Lions midfielder dedicated his 2020 Brownlow Medal win to his wife on Sunday night.
‘My wife Jules, she’s an amazing human being,’ he said in his acceptance speech.
‘Not many people probably know but she owned a salon in Perth before we decided to move to Brisbane. She had to sell that to come over here and follow my dreams.
Big move: They relocated from Perth to Brisbane after getting married, when Lachie switched teams from Fremantle to the Lions after seven seasons. Pictured on their wedding day
Heartwarming moment: The Brisbane Lions midfielder dedicated his 2020 Brownlow Medal win to his wife, Julie, on Sunday night. Pictured at the 2017 Brownlow Medal in Melbourne
‘She was doing very well for herself over there but she always puts me ahead of herself when she shouldn’t have to.’
Neale grew up in Kybybolite – a town 340km south-east of Adelaide – without a school or railway line and largely glued together by the footy club where he first played the sport competitively.
‘Apart from a few dozen houses all that’s left in the town is the footy club and the CFS [Country Fire Service] shed,’ Neale’s Kybybolite Tigers under-17 coach Andrew Shepherd told News Corp.
Kind: ‘My wife Jules, she’s an amazing human being,’ Lachie (right) said of Jules (left) in his acceptance speech on Sunday
‘And without the footy club the town just about doesn’t exist,’ Mr Shepherd added.
Jules currently works at Mikki Auld Hairdressing in West End, Brisbane, where the staff call her the ‘beauty queen’.
Despite leaving behind her old life in Perth, Julie seems blissfully happy living in Brisbane with her footy star husband.
Professional: Jules currently works at Mikki Auld Hairdressing in West End, Brisbane, where the staff call her the ‘beauty queen’
Happy together: Despite leaving behind her old life in Perth, Julie seems blissfully happy living in Brisbane with her footy star husband
Smooch: Julie (right) kissed her husband’s cheek as he showed off his Brownlow Medal