Garry Lyon and Nicky Brownless engaged in 'wild' new twist to infamous AFL scandal

Garry Lyon and Nicky Brownless have taken their relationship to the next level and are engaged to be married. In the latest twist to the extraordinary controversy that rocked the AFL world, the couple have announced their engagement on social media.

Nicky uploaded a photo of her and Lyon on Instagram to announce the news. "The best surprise," she wrote in the caption alongside a photo of them celebrating the engagement. The couple are said to be heading to New York on a romantic getaway to celebrate.

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Lyon had a nasty falling out with former best mate Billy Brownless in 2016 when he started a relationship with Nicky - Billy's ex-wife. The former AFL players were working together on the Footy Show when the news was made public, and didn't speak for a number of years afterwards.

Billy and Nicky Brownless were together for 18 years before they split and have four children together. In 2020, Billy opened up about the pain of Nicky moving on with his best mate during his stint on ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’.

“We separated about four years ago. Had a big, big dust-up we did. It was public, very public,” he said on the reality TV show. “She just fell out of love, which happens. I didn’t expect it. You think she’ll come back and all that, but she didn’t. So that was a real kick in the guts.”

Addressing his nasty falling out with Lyon, Brownless said: “We’re not best mates and there was no Christmas cards or anything, but one day I suppose we’ll sit down and have a beer. Time heals.”

It appears as though time has indeed healed, with the Lyon and Brownless families spending Christmas together for the last few years - including Garry and Billy. “It worked really well and that was all very positive," daughter Lucy Brownless said previously. “We're all happy and happy to be all together. It was a great day. We were all really excited about that.”

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In 2021, Billy again opened up on the relationship breakdown. "At the time you go through all different emotions of course. 'Why me?' and a bit of hatred," he admitted.

"But now mate, it's been four or five years, I've come around and everyone is in a good spot to be honest. Garry and Nicky are - that's fine - and the kids are.

"That was the other big problem. Young Maxy was about 10, Oscar was about 14, the girls were 16, 17. There's no problems, we're in a good space, he's in a good space, Nicky is, the kids are and so am I. But that has taken time. It has.

“It was so public that was the biggest problem. It was so public. On TV, in the papers, front page of the Geelong 'Addy'. It was hard at the time because it was so public. I’d walk into a coffee shop and I’d swear everyone was looking at me and talking about it and they weren’t.”

Lyon’s previous marriage with ex-wife Melissa ended in 2014 before he started seeing Nicky. Melissa has previously claimed Lyon was seeing Nicky in 2013.

“It’s important I apologise publicly for the hurt they’ve been through,” Lyon said about his family at the time his relationship with Nicky was made public. “I was separated back in 2014. It’s hard enough to deal with separation, hard enough to deal with privately let alone publicly when you throw in a new relationship that lots of people frown upon, a person who was once married to a friend."

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