Jimmy Bartel’s girlfriend Lauren Mand ‘couldn’t be happier’ as she breaks her silence on the couple’s relationship… after the retired AFL star’s bitter split from wife Nadia
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Lauren Mand, the new girlfriend of retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel, has spoken for the first time about their controversial relationship.
In a post shared to her private Instagram account, the Melbourne-based socialite revealed she was ‘content and couldn’t be happier’.
Lauren, who was previously living in the UK, listed her London flat for rent four weeks ago and is now believed to be permenantly settled in Australia.
‘Couldn’t be happier’: Lauren Mand, the girlfriend of retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel, has spoken for the first time about their controversial relationship. Pictured in Melbourne on Thursday
New Idea magazine first reported on the existence of the Instagram post on Monday, but no further information has been made public.
Lauren has 1,095 followers, including Jimmy and several lower-tier celebrities, but it is unclear who leaked the post.
It comes after Jimmy and Lauren were pictured together in Melbourne on Thursday as they went shopping for baby supplies.
No worries! In a post shared to her private Instagram account, the Melbourne-based socialite revealed she was ‘content and couldn’t be happier’. Pictured in Manly, Sydney on August 28
The pair looked rather glum while stepping out of a discount pharmacy to buy nappies, which were presumably for Jimmy’s 11-month-old son Henley.
According to onlookers, they arrived at the shop together but quickly parted ways after realising they had been recognised.
Jimmy and Lauren’s relationship was exposed in August, just days after his estranged wife, Nadia Bartel, confirmed they had separated.
It’s over! Jimmy and Lauren’s relationship was exposed in August, just days after his estranged wife, Nadia Bartel (left), confirmed they had separated. Pictured at a friend’s wedding in June
In September, Daily Mail Australia revealed that Lauren was planning to move back to Australia after spending several months living in England.
She uploaded a post to a Facebook group for Australian expats in which she listed her two-bedroom London apartment for sublet.
In the ad, Lauren explained she would be returning home on September 22 and was looking for someone to take over her $1,500-a-month room ‘ASAP’.
The Bartels announced their separation on August 15, around two months after Nadia moved out of their marital home in Melbourne.
The former couple married in February 2014 in a lavish ceremony on the Bellarine Peninsula. They share two sons: three-year-old Aston and 11-month-old Henley.
At the time of their split, it was widely reported that Jimmy and Lauren were in a ‘long-term relationship’ that Nadia had discovered through ‘text messages’.