Melissa Seymour confirmed her shock split from former Sydney Swans star Brad Seymour in January, after 20 years of marriage.
And seven months on, the former WAG has revealed just how much her life has changed since unexpectedly becoming a single mother to two teenagers at 45.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Melissa revealed that she’s ‘ready to date again’.
Speaking out: Former AFL WAG Melissa Seymour (R) has discussed how much her life has changed since becoming a single mother to two teenagers after splitting from Sydney Swans star Brad Seymour (L) in January following 20 years of marriage
‘Since the split, I’ve been coping well and now I am ready to start dating again,’ she said, revealing she was on the waitlist for celebrity members-only dating app Raya.
‘I have sworn off using dating apps with the exception of Raya. I’m on the waitlist which could take forever, but I am reconnecting with old friends, new friends and friends of friends.’
She described dating as a ‘new frontier’, and said she’s been working on her ‘glow-up’ in recent months.
‘Since the split, I’ve been coping well and now I am ready to start dating again,’ she said, revealing she was on the waitlist for celebrity members-only dating app Raya
When asked how she was coping living in with two teenagers aged 18 and 14 in lockdown, Melissa, who lives in Sydney’s east, added: ‘Lockdown is like it is for every other family out there – trying.
‘The children and I can go from being in each of our rooms with the door shut, to watching a movie, to dancing in the lounge to having a lip sync battle. And cooking and exercise – we’ve been doing a lot of that.’
While she’s enjoying spending quality time with her family, Melissa has suffered for years with a chronic brain condition called trigeminal neuralgia.
Ready to roll: Melissa described dating as a ‘new frontier’, and said she’s been working on her ‘glow-up’ mid lockdown
The condition carries sensation from the face to the brain whereby even mild stimulation such as putting on makeup can cause a jolt of excruciating pain.
Melissa had microvascular decompression surgery on her brain about a year ago to abnormal compression of a cranial nerve – but it hasn’t appeared to stop the pain completely.
She has made back-and-forth trips to the hospital multiple times this year, after the stress of going through a separation caused the condition to ‘flare up’.
Melissa is now offering support to others who suffer with the condition, giving advice of her own experiences and someone to lean on when times get tough.
‘It wasn’t by choice, but by design,’ she said. ‘My name comes up in a trigeminal neuralgia search so I am often contacted by other sufferers looking for guidance on what is a very difficult journey.
Condition: While she’s enjoying spending quality time with her family, Melissa has suffered for years with a chronic brain condition called trigeminal neuralgia
‘I am always obliging in helping them navigate the process and be a sympathetic ear. I do this as a totally free service – I just see it as giving back.’
Melissa added that she suffered an adverse reaction to her Pfizer vaccination a few weeks prior – and while she’s very much pro-vaccine, she urged others who suffer the condition to speak to a specialist first to understand the potential side effects.
‘I was in bed for just over two weeks in agony,’ she said. ‘Not just TN sufferers, but anyone with an underlying health condition, in my opinion, should speak with their specialist as a priority.
‘I’m not saying don’t get vaccinated – I don’t think there is any other option if we want our freedoms back. I’m saying there are side effects for some conditions and you should be informed.’
Advice: Melissa added that she suffered an adverse reaction to her Pfizer vaccination a few weeks prior – and while she’s very much pro-vaccine, she urged others who suffer the condition to speak to their GP first to understand the side effects
Melissa and Brad married in 2001, after a whirlwind romance of six months.
Seymour himself is a very well-known Sydney Swans star, and is now the CEO of the Swans Foundation and a commentator for Triple M.
He joined the Swans in 1994, and played 133 games in his career which was plagued by injuries.
Seymour played in his club’s 1996 Grand Final loss to North Melbourne.
He retired from the sport at age 27, due to his wife’s modelling agency expanding from Sydney into Melbourne.
Daily Mail Australia confirmed the split earlier this year, revealing the CEO of the Swans Foundation had ended their relationship and moved out of the family home.
Melissa, who is in the midst of writing a tell-all book, broke her silence on Instagram shortly after.
‘So, I wish I had had the time to tell my friends directly, but this article came out this morning and kinda blew the lid off those plans,’ Melissa wrote on Instagram.
She continued: ‘The headline is all you need to know – Brad and I are separated and as the article says, I’m pretty shocked to say the least.
‘The kids are okay with it (as much as possible) and getting more used to it day by day. They remain the central focus in moving forward.’
Over: In January, Daily Mail Australia revealed the CEO of the Swans Foundation had ended their relationship four weeks earlier and moved out of the family home the couple shared with their two teenage children