Nicky Brownless has opened up about leaving her former football star husband Billy for his best friend and fellow ex player Garry Lyon.
Ms Brownless, 48, said she was still happily together with Lyon, 50, as she prepares to make a public appearance at the Crown Oaks races with her daughters Lucy, 21, and Ruby, 19 – for the first time since the revelations about the affair broke.
‘We’ve all moved on and everyone is happy and we’re just getting on with life,’ she told the Herald Sun.
‘You get to a point in your life where you just want to be happy.’
Nicky Brownless has opened up about leaving her former footy star husband Billy for his best friend and fellow former player Garry Lyon
Ms Brownless, 48, said she was still happily together with Lyon, 50, and will make a public appearance at the Crown Oaks races with her daughters Lucy, 21, and Ruby, 19 (pictured)
Billy and Nicky Brownless are pictured with Garry Lyon and his ex-wife Melissa. Billy and Garry have not spoken to each other since Christmas 2015
She splits her time between Lyon’s home in Melbourne and hers in Geelong. Her two eldest daughters live together in South Yarra.
‘Life’s busy, I’m up and down a lot,’ the mother-of-four said.
In addition to taking on a number of ambassador roles, Lucy is studying nutrition while Ruby is undertaking a styling course at the Whitehouse Institute.
Both daughters are looking forward to joining their mum at the races.
‘I think everyone is comfortable where everything is at, we’re all really close as a family, our family is fine so everyone else should be as well,’ Lucy said.
Ms Brownless splits her time between Lyon’s home in Melbourne and hers in Geelong. Her two eldest daughters live together in South Yarra (pictured is Ruby)
In addition to taking on a number of ambassador roles, Lucy (right) is studying nutrition while Ruby (left) is undertaking a styling course at the Whitehouse Institute
Garry Lyon (pictured) opened up about the affair with the wife of his ‘good mate’ Billy Brownless in an emotional interview in January
Garry Lyon opened up about the affair with the wife of his ‘good mate’ Billy Brownless in an emotional interview in January.
The father-of-three sat down for a candid chat about his mental health struggles, return to public life and his relationship with Mrs Brownless.
A tearful Lyon admitted he had not spoken to Mr Brownless since before Christmas 2015, while the affair became public knowledge weeks later in early 2016.
The pair were briefly reunited in grief at Lou Richards’ funeral in March this year, but are not believed to be on speaking terms – despite previously holidaying together with their families.
In March 2016, Brownless opened up about the toll the affair has had on his family, saying ‘a good mate wouldn’t do that’ and believed the secret relationship could have been going on for up to four years.
Billy Brownless pictured with his daughters Lucy and and Ruby
‘I think everyone is comfortable where everything is at, we’re all really close as a family, our family is fine so everyone else should be as well,’ Lucy said
Brownless had said he believed the secret relationship between his ex-wife and Lyon could have been going on for up to four years
‘I couldn’t believe it. I found out three or four months ago. I asked Garry and Nicky earlier on what is going on and they said they were just good friends. That’s what hurts the most,’ Brownless told the Footy Show.
‘By law it’s legal. Morally it’s wrong. We all know our rights and wrong. You don’t touch a man’s wallet, you don’t touch his wife.’
Lyon said his relationship with Nicky Brownless being forced into the media spotlight has been ‘a lot to deal with,’ especially after his separation from Melissa.
‘I haven’t spoke to (Billy) since before Christmas previously,’ Lyon said. ‘I spoke to Bill before this became public and beyond that, it’s something for he and I to work through and we’ll do it’.
Lyon and Brownless had been friends for 15 years and worked together on the popular AFL Footy Show on Channel 9 between 2009 and 2015.
Lyon’s battle with depression became public after he took leave from the Footy Show after falling out with Brownless.
Nicky and Billy Brownless pictured before their marriage was torn apart by the affair
Lyon and Brownless (pictured right) had been friends for 15 years and worked together on the popular AFL Footy Show on Channel 9 between 2009 and 2015