Two days after inferring she was secretly dating Jimmy Bartel while he was still married to his ex-wife of five years, Nadia, Lauren Mand’s friends have flocked to social media to praise her for going public with her relationship.
WATCH: Nadia opens up about splitting with Jimmy in a heartbreaking interview
After the rising socialite— who has been branded by insiders as a “want to be WAG”— made her romance with the retired AFL star Instagram official with a photo of the couple cuddling up to each other, the post attracted a lot of attention, with one of her followers commending her for “keeping it classy”…. which, side note, seems to be a direct dig at Nadia.
“So happy for you, my darling Loz,” one pal wrote. “Good to see you guys happy and enjoying life.”
Another wrote: “Really happy for you, love that you kept it classy.”
Not surprisingly, many took exception to the glowing comments, however, her pals were there to defend her: “Why can’t we be happy for two people who clearly found genuine love and support in each other? She makes him look really happy. No one will know how long ago the love left that last relationship,” she said, referring to Jimmy and Nadia’s marriage. “Don’t be bitter. It’s not always the man’s fault, wives push men away all the time.”
Another one of Lauren’s loyal followers weighed in, taking the opportunity to blast the mother of Jimmy’s children despite the fact the person defending her had already deleted her comment.
“And a vacuous, self-absorbed, selfish wife too, Jimmy deserves to be loved and adored. Nadia will be fine, she loves and adores herself.”
The controversial comments follow the emergence of a cryptic photo Lauren posted to her Instagram page less than a month before the athlete confirmed he’d split from his fashion blogger wife.
The snap, which was taken while she was living in London, included the caption, “Undecided but in love”, prompting many to believe she was, unbeknownst to anyone, already in a relationship with Jimmy.
Recently, strange new details about their relationship have surfaced, with another social media post confirming Lauren had relocated from Melbourne to London less than three months before Jimmy flew over there.
While this information may seem irrelevant, knowing Lauren had already relocated when Jimmy visited London adds more weight to Nadia’s previous comments about her ex-husband’s holiday which suggest she knew he’d spent time with her while travelling.
“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.
With rumours swirling she’s long been referring to Jimmy as her boyfriend and is said to be loving her 15 minutes of fame, over the weekend, Lauren took a subtle swipe at Nadia when she reposted a photo of her two sons— who she shares with Jimmy— and added a glowing caption about being “the most amazing dad”.
“I admire you more and more each day for everything you do for these boys,” she captioned the black and white snaps.
She then shared another cryptic quote which read: “I am very cautious of people whose actions don’t match their words… When it’s all for show.”
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, he admitted their current situation “is not great”.
“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.
“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.”
Nadia has since moved out of their home and into her parents’ house. According to The Sunday Telegraph, the mother-of-two will not be changing her name back to Nadia Coppolino in the wake of their separation.
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