Fresh from his break-up with wife of five years, Nadia, earlier this year, retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel has appeared to have moved on with Melbourne socialite Lauren Mand.
WATCH: Nadia Bartel breaks down onscreen over split from Jimmy
And now, four weeks after putting her London apartment on the market to move back to Australia, the blonde has admitted she’s in a great place.
In an Instagram post on September 24, Lauren admitted she’s “content and couldn’t be happier”, despite the rumour mill about the apparent relationship being in overdrive.
While Lauren and Jimmy have been doing their best to keep things under wraps, the pair appeared to make their first public step together last week by following each other on Instagram.
Lauren, who made her social media accounts private amidst all the chatter, has been avoiding the spotlight of late, seemingly protecting her new life with Jimmy. A far cry from her former life in Melbourne.
“She was a Melbourne socialite – always at the top clubs, like Eve and Baroque, which were popular at the time,” a source tells New Idea of bubbly Lauren. “It was almost guaranteed you’d see her every week.”
Meanwhile, Nadia, who went public with the separation on August 15, admits she’s been struggling.
“It’s been a tough time personally for me recently. It’s just so painful.”
For more, see this week’s New Idea – out now!