The woman at the centre of footy golden boy Lachie Neale’s marriage breakdown is a Mormon missionary who sells women’s sanitary ‘moon cups’ – and an unlikely figure to be thrust into the media spotlight.

Softly-spoken and deeply religious, Tess Crosley’s once low-key Instagram account has suddenly become the subject of intense scrutiny by Brisbane Lions fans searching for details of their star player’s split. 

Gossips have pored over every photo, expression and caption on her account for possible clues to fuel speculation about the breakdown of the Neales’ marriage. 

Ms Crosley broke cover on Tuesday after retreating to a luxury hideaway in the Byron Bay hinterland. 

It was the first time she had been seen since former close friend Ms Neale, 35, unloaded on social media and said she had been ‘betrayed in the most unimaginable way’.

A News Corp article had claimed the couple were ‘working through’ marital issues. However, Ms Neale fired back: ‘I want to make it very clear that I am not ‘working through’ anything. 

‘I have been betrayed in the most unimaginable way. All I can do now is to heal and do what’s best for my children.

‘Thank you for the love and support. Jules x.’

Tess Crosley broke cover on Tuesday after she fled to a luxury retreat in the Byron Bay hinterland

Ms Crosley (left) and her husband Ben (second from right) were once inseparable from Lachie Neale and his wife Jules (pictured together at the recent grand final)

Ms Crosley is pictured on Tuesday after the dispute with Jules Neale came to light over the weekend 

As a Mormon missionary and businesswoman, Tess Crosley is unused to the media spotlight

Jules Neale and Tess Crosley show off bromance video on holiday

Since then, social media has been abuzz over resurfaced snaps of Ms Crosley joining Neale and his wife at matches and on holiday together.

Ms Crosley grew up on Queensland’s Gold Coast, attending Marymount College in Burleigh Waters, before studying at Griffith University. 

From an early age, she was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church or LDS, and is thought to still be a practising member.

Between 2015 and 2017, her faith took her across the country when she served as a Mormon missionary in Perth.

After leaving university, she held several professional roles, including as an executive assistant and bankruptcy consultant, before retraining as a dental hygienist.

She and a friend later co-founded Evella Health, a reusable ‘moon cup’-style period product brand and marketed as a modern, female-led wellness business. 

Despite an early online push, the brand’s Instagram account has been dormant since 2021.

Tess married her husband Ben Crosley, also a Mormon, in 2017 and they have one son together.

Tess Crosley and husband Ben are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Ben Crosley is seen with a McDonalds meal on Tuesday  

In her wedding speech – video of which has recently resurfaced online – the bride joked that she knew early on how much Ben loved her.

‘Tess, it goes you,’ she said, gesturing upwards, before motioning down and adding: ‘And then the Crows [AFL team].’

‘That was the day I truly did know that Ben loved me.’

The Crosleys were frequently photographed with the AFL glamour couple and appeared inseparable during Brisbane’s premiership celebrations in September.

In June, the two couples posted a TikTok playing out the viral ‘Hope our husbands like each other’ trend, ending with Lachie and Ben arm-in-arm, drinks in hand.

Following the Lions’ grand final win over Geelong, she shared multiple photos from the MCG, including shots on the field and in the sheds. 

One image showed her and Jules both biting Neale’s premiership medal together.

But according to a source, that friendship unravelled sharply when Ms Neale allegedly told Mr Crosley about their partners’ ‘betrayal’.

Tess (third left) attending a missionary dinner and devotional in 2017 following her missionary tour to Perth

Tess Crosley (pictured centre) with her sisters (left) and parents (right) grew up in the LDS church on the Gold Coast

The eight second video starts with Jules mimicking the phrase: ‘I hope our husbands get along’.

Husbands Lachie and Ben are featured in the video

‘Ben found out because Jules told him,’ the source said. ‘Jules was suss for a while.’

On one now-deleted post, Jules allegedly left a furious comment, telling Ms Crosley to remove the images and accusing her of embarrassing herself. 

Soon after, the women unfollowed each other, comments were switched off, and Ms Crosley stopped posting altogether.

As speculation mounted, Ms Crosley’s name spread rapidly through AFL circles, triggering a sharp increase in social media followers.

Neale briefly added to the intrigue by commenting ‘power couple’ on a photo of Ms Crosley and her husband, before Neale later unfollowed Ms Crosley.

Meanwhile, Ms Neale has removed every photo of her husband from her Instagram account, dating back to 2012, and has since unfollowed him. 

The split has shocked fans and comes after Ms Neale made glowing comments about her marriage earlier this year.

In April, she described their relationship as ‘solid’, saying the pair worked hard to block outside noise.

Jules has wiped the two-time Brownlow Medal winner from her Instagram page, with all photos of the pair deleted

Tess was seen at a luxury retreat in Byron Bay days before Christmas. Above in an old photo with her husband

Jules allegedly left a furious comment on an image Ms Crosley posted of the foursome, telling her to remove the images and accusing her of embarrassing herself

The couple had appeared united at major events, including the Brownlow Medal and the Brisbane Lions’ Club Champion awards, where they posed arm-in-arm.

Ms Neale, a former Perth salon owner, is a well-known face on Brownlow best-dressed lists and close with the well-heeled clique of Brisbane’s WAGs. 

She has built a following of more than 27,000 Instagram followers as a stylist and lifestyle influencer, and works as a hairdresser at a Brisbane salon.

Her husband is a dual-Brownlow medallist, four-time All-Australian and 293-game veteran who made a miraculous return from a torn calf to feature in September’s grand final.

He has remained silent in the wake of the row erupting, as have the Brisbane Lions and his management.