Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale has admitted he “let a lot of people down” during his off-season cheating scandal that ended in a bitter marriage breakdown.

Speaking about the drama publicly for the first time, Neale has opened up on the intense scrutiny that followed on Triple M’s The Rush Hour with Dobbo & Elliott.

In the fallout, Neale stood down from his captaincy role at the Lions, as countless stories rolled out about his affair with Tess Crosley, and his split with wife Jules.

Neale said the heightened media attention was “over the top” and the coverage took a deeply personal toll on his family.

“When it’s your personal lives and your private matters, you probably don’t think it’s newsworthy,” Neale told Triple M’s The Rush Hour with Dobbo & Elliott.

“In a sense I get it, I’m the captain of a footy club but it felt over the top.

“It was pretty crazy there for a while, and it’s great to have the footy back on which has taken over the headlines.”

Neale plays his 300th game this weekend, and he said the past few months had “weirdly helped his football” while training had been a “form of therapy”.

“It’s been a challenging few months, but I’ve got great support and people around me who have helped enormously,” Neale said.

“In a way, it was a form of therapy to go and train and look after myself.

“I didn’t really drink at all through that period. I felt like I had to knuckle down and narrow my focus on my football and being there for my kids when I could.

“In a weird way, it helped my football. I was able to concentrate on getting the most out of myself and making sure I was prepared.

“I felt like I had let a lot of people down, so I wanted to redeem myself by the way I came back into the pre-season and games, in particular.”

One of the people who supported Neale was Chris Fagan, who was able to act as a coach and a friend throughout the drama.

“Yeah, he was (both),” Neale said.

“I had a number of senior figures at the club reach out almost daily, and Fages was one of those.

“He’s been a great mentor in life, a great friend, and an awesome coach. He just wants the best out of people. He’s got a lot of life experience, and I lent on him on a fair bit through it, and same as (Brisbane football manager) Danny Daly, those two were awesome for me.”

He said the summer could not end soon enough as the scandal played out in the media.

“It felt like a year and a half wait for that (first game) during the pre-season, but I was glad to get back on the field,” he said.

“I was itching to get back onto the field and do what I love.”

He said his decision to stand down as Brisbane captain was not really a result of the affair.

“I spoke to Fages 12 months before, so heading into the 2025 season, and said I think this will be my last year doing it. We didn’t really have any conversations through the year, and it felt like the right time anyway,” he said.

“We have Josh Dunkley and Hugh McCluggage who are unbelievable people, and I can’t speak highly enough of them, and it felt like they were ready for the job.

“We had enough leaders there that it was the right time to hand that over anyway.”

Neale said it was now possible he would move clubs at the end of 2026 to be closer to his children.

“Yeah, I think, you’ve got to be real,” he said.

“I’m always thinking about it, and what the future is going to look like. It’s in the back of my mind, but I brush it aside, we’re only five weeks into the season, but I think in about three or four months from now, I’ll tap into that.

“I’ll have to see how my life is looking in Brisbane … is that sustainable? Is that not? I’ll look at that in three or four months rather than rushing that decision now.”

Asked about his playing future, Neale said he still believed he could keep going until 2029.

“Yeah, absolutely. My body can play until then,” he said.

“For me, it’ll come down to two things and hopefully I get that choice: it’s your body and your mind.

“As long as I’m still loving footy and loving improving, being around the group, and trying to get the most out of myself and my teammates, then I’ll keep playing. I feel like I could play for another three or four years if my mind allows it.”