Their toxic break-up was the talk of the sporting world – now Nathan Lyon’s ex reveals the TRUTH about her relationship with the cricket star and the WAG who replaced her

There’s never an easy way to learn your spouse is having an affair.

But for Mel Waring, the way she discovered her partner and the father of her two daughters, Nathan Lyon, had another girlfriend on the other side of the country was particularly cruel.

Even by the rock-bottom standards of philandering Australian cricketers.

It was December 2017 when Daily Mail published paparazzi photos of a grinning Lyon kissing a young, blonde real estate agent in a car in Perth.

Her name was Emma McCarthy. Mel had never heard of her before.

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Mel Waring, the former partner of Australian Test cricketer Nathan Lyon, now lives a regular suburban life after the off-spinner left her for another woman in 2017

Mel lives a quieter life these days at her Canberra five-bedder. She used to follow her partner around the world as he chased his dream of playing international cricket 

When Nathan’s camp and Cricket Australia were alerted to the pictures, they went into damage control. Sources assured us the off-spinner was in a ‘loving and committed’ relationship with Emma and they’d been together for about a year.

They also said he’d ended things with Mel some time ago.

However, Waring denied they were separated. In fact, her social media was full of family snapshots – including references to Nathan as ‘daddy’, ‘our man’ and ‘our world’ – that suggested the relationship was ongoing.

When we asked Mel at her home in Sydney’s south if it was true she and Nathan had ended things a year earlier, she offered a blunt and heartbreaking response.

‘I think seeing his car sitting in the driveway and his washing sitting here, that probably gives you enough of an idea,’ she told us at the time.

‘We have two small children who I have to put first and unfortunately at the end of the day I’m the one who’s being f***ed around here.’

After Nathan’s affair with Emma was exposed, a wounded Mel retreated to Canberra with her daughters.

She occasionally poured out her heartbreak on a blog quietly followed by sympathetic WAGs who resented Nathan for trading her in for a younger model. 

When I caught up with Mel (right, with a friend) on Friday at her home in the ACT suburbs, it was clear she was no longer the ‘scorned woman’ she was once portrayed as in the press

She is still in Canberra, has a new boyfriend and lives a normal suburban life

Mel was Nathan’s girlfriend before he hit the big time. She supported him when he played grade cricket and when he was daydreaming of stardom while working as a groundsman

I asked Mel what she thought of Nathan and Emma’s affair almost eight years later. She told me they had ‘moved past it’ and now do ‘lots of stuff as a family’. (Nathan and Emma are pictured at the Australian Cricket Awards in Melbourne in February 2019)

Mel lives a quieter life these days.

She is still in Canberra, has a new boyfriend and lives a normal suburban life that’s worlds away from the first-class flights, red carpets and gala dinners enjoyed by Emma, who married Nathan in 2022 and had a child with him a year later.

When I caught up with Mel on Friday at her home in the ACT suburbs, it was clear she was no longer the ‘scorned woman’ she was once portrayed as in the press.

And the wounds of the past appear to have healed.

‘Nathan and I have a good relationship. We co-parent our children very well,’ she tells me, adding that he has an active role in their daughters’ lives.

‘We do lots of stuff as a family that’s all together,’ she notes.

When our brief conversation strays to Nathan and Emma’s relationship, Mel reiterates their ‘affair’ was a very long time ago and they have all ‘moved past it’.

Emma initially faced a frosty reception from the cricket WAG set, who were generally loyal to Mel (left). Dani Willis (right), the wife of Steve Smith, was said to be particularly supportive

These days, Emma is something of a queen bee in the WAG set – although this 2023 red carpet photo of Dani (centre right) with her back to Emma (right) is rather telling. Also pictured: Jess Davies (left), Becky Boston (centre left) and Rachel Khawaja (centre)

Her forgiving attitude these days is a far cry from her ‘Life of Lyons’ blogs from 2018, which she began posting three months after Nathan’s infidelity was exposed as an outlet to grieve her decade-long relationship.

‘I was a 29-year-old woman, with two incredible little girls and an incredible partner who I endlessly loved and adored for nine years,’ she wrote.

‘For the past seven of those years, we have travelled around the world. I have supported him and his dream of playing professional cricket for his country, raising our two gorgeous children, at home, in hotel rooms, and on tour. Trying to make the most of our crazy, incredible life as a family unit of four.

‘Overnight I became a single mum to two children, overnight my world was rocked to its core and it changed forever.

‘Life as I knew it was over and my soulmate was gone, leaving me and our girls to pick up the broken pieces and try to find a way to move forward alone.’

Emma (far right) joined fellow WAGs (from left) Jess Davies, Bonnie Paine, Becky Boston and Cat McAteer during a visit to the Australian High Commission in London in August 2019

Last week, as I caught up with Mel in Canberra’s suburbs, Emma was boarding a first-class Qantas flight to England with her daughter, along with $22,000 worth of designer accessories

During the couple’s long-term relationship, which did not result in marriage, Mel was Nathan’s biggest supporter, often speaking of how proud she was of his success

During the couple’s long-term relationship, which did not result in marriage, Mel was Nathan’s biggest supporter, often speaking of how proud she was of his success. 

They first met at Canberra’s Mooseheads nightclub in 2007 when they were barely out of their teens – and long before Nathan became known as one of Australia’s greatest spin bowlers.

He was an aspiring cricket pro, and she was the girl-next-door working as a nanny.

Mel stood by Nathan as he worked a string of ordinary jobs while playing grade cricket in the ACT. She was there in 2009 when he moved to Adelaide to play at club level and daydreamed of stardom while employed as a groundsman at the Oval.

The turning point came in 2011 with his Test debut where he famously took a wicket with his very first ball to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka.

Mel, one of the few remaining ties to his old life, was there to support him and raise their daughters, Harper and Milla, born soon after the underdog’s career finally took off.

In August 2020, Waring moved into a $1.4million home in Canberra with her children 

Nathan and Emma own this $3.8million townhouse in Sydney’s Tennyson Point

His playing success brought with it the pressure of an international sporting schedule that saw their young family travel to Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, Bangladesh and the West Indies.

Despite Nathan’s soaring profile, she never doubted him.

Flash forward to 2025 and Lyon is now a father of three. He and Emma, now his wife, welcomed a daughter, August, in September 2023.

They also own a $3.8million townhouse in Sydney’s Tennyson Point. 

Emma, who previously dated Lyon’s Australia teammate Mitchell Marsh, initially faced a frosty reception from the cricket WAG set, but over time they have come to accept her as one of their own.

Indeed, now she is something of a queen bee, and is said to be friends with the likes of Jess Davies, Bonnie Paine, Becky Boston and Cat McAteer.

Days after I caught up with Mel in suburban Canberra, Emma posted Instagram snaps from an Australian café in London, along with a video of Nathan walking hand-in-hand with their daughter August down Marylebone High Street

Last week, as I caught up with Mel in suburban Canberra – juggling a puffer jacket and takeaway coffee – Emma was boarding a first-class Qantas flight to London with her 19-month-old daughter ahead of the World Test Championship.

She checked in a $19,230 black Chanel bag, a $3,725 Goyard tote, and $1,500 worth of luxury in-flight skincare before settling in for 24 hours in the sky.

Days later, she posted Instagram snaps from an Australian café in London, along with a video of Nathan walking hand-in-hand with August down Marylebone High Street.

The contrast with his old life couldn’t be starker.

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