Jimmy Bartel and his girlfriend Lauren Mand have hit back at a troll who compared the retired AFL star’s marriage breakdown with wife Nadia Bartel to being similar to evil domestic violence perpetrator, Rowan Baxter.
WATCH: Nadia Bartel parties with bestie Bec Judd following split from Jimmy
Jimmy Bartel, 36, an anti-domestic violence campaigner, hit out at the heinous actions of Baxter who murdered his wife and three children before killing himself.
A troll said: “Shut up, you cheated on your wife, it’s the emotional equivalent.”
Jimmy replied: “A marriage breakdown is NOT murdering your wife and kids!”
“Tearing down people trying to highlight a major issue in this country is not the way forward.”
Mand reshared Jimmy’s post and added: “Agreed”.
Jimmy caused shocked when he left his seemingly Insta-perfect life and wife, Nadia, for another woman last year.
Nadia and Jimmy’s split has been anything but amicable, with the pair regularly taking swipes at each other.
In one instance, Nadia shared a series of cryptic posts about their acrimonious breakup, subtly hinting she mistakenly listened to her heart over her gut — hence why she stayed committed to Jimmy amid rumours he’d been discretely dating Lauren for months.
“Always trust your gut. Your brain can be fooled and your heart is a f**king idiot. Your gut can’t lie,” the quote read.
Nadia also made it clear she’s happiest when she is with her son’s Aston and Henley, and away from the footy player.
“Busy week last week with work… leading into another one this week (my last before Xmas),” she captioned the gorgeous photo of her little ones. “But I am by far my happiest on days like today when I’m squished between these two heads.”
Aside from the sneaky digs at her ex-hubby, Nadia confirmed she’s been doing better since announcing their split in August.
“Doesn’t matter what’s happening in your life – if you are struggling, stressed or sad, it can be hard to leave the house, but sometimes there is nothing better for the soul than a little boogie with friends for a few hours,” she wrote on Instagram while attending friend Bec Judd’s ‘Juddchella’ party.
Meanwhile, Jimmy is focused on proving he’s well and truly moved on from the Nadia— and his new girlfriend Lauren is definitely helping! Last week, the Melbourne born socialite— who’s been flaunting their romance on social media— shared a never-before-seen photo with Jimmy on his 36th birthday, which was coupled with a glowing caption.
“Happy Birthday JB, I love you,” she wrote, marking the first time she’s publicly declared her love for the dad of two.
Following the gushy tribute, she continued the celebrations on Instagram, sharing another photo of Jimmy huddled around three birthday cakes.
“HBD to these two,” she captioned the photo of a smiling Jimmy holding a glass of red wine alongside one of the couple’s friends as they prepare to blow out the candles.
Three months ago, Lauren hinted she’d been dating Jimmy—who was still married at the time—for a while, sharing a cryptic Instagram post which read, “Undecided but in love”.
While the post may seem irrelevant, knowing she’d had relocated to the UK when Jimmy visited the British capital adds more weight to Nadia’s previous comments about his holiday.
“I don’t want to comment specifically on what’s been reported about Jim’s trip to the UK as I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest,” Nadia told the Herald Sun, all but confirming she knew he’d spent time with Lauren while travelling abroad.
Jimmy announced his split from his wife— who he married at the Bellarine Peninsula in 2014— on August 15. Speaking about the breakdown of their marriage in September, he admitted the state of their relationship was in tethers.
“I am probably not going to provide any commentary on it,” he said. “I know I am in the public eye and people are interested, but it is a private matter and I ask for a bit of respect because obviously Nadia and the boys [are] involved.”
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