Craig Lowndes 'ashamed' after three-year affair comes to light

Aussie motorsport icon Craig Lowndes has opened up about a three-year online affair that very nearly ended his marriage.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph on Friday, the Supercars legend revealed how he was kicked out the house by wife Lara when she became aware of what was going on.

The 48-year-old had been messaging a woman he'd never met on Instagram for three years before Lara found out earlier this year.

'PAINFUL TO SEE': Daniel Ricciardo in 'heartbreaking F1 drama

'WASN'T AWARE': Mick Schumacher mother's startling reveal

Lowndes said he was in a “bad place” at the time and is now “getting help".

“For me … I’m ashamed to be talking to you about this, it’s very sensitive to myself and Lara,” Lowndes said.

“It is what it is, but I can honestly say Lara knows all about this and this third person is no longer in my life. Lara and I still live together, we had some time apart, but now we are committed to working through it all.

“Social media is an evil thing at times, it can be very beneficial, but it can also be very evil … we don’t even know this isn’t a catfish.”

Craig Lowndes' wife 'tormented' by individual online

Lowndes said they have since been "tormented" by the person he was messaging and is considering police action.

“Some of the s**t we’ve received is out of control, we have been tormented. It’s f***ing hard," Lara said.

Lowndes, a seven-time champion at the Bathurst 1000, sent the messages from his official @CraigLowndes888 Instagram account.

At one point he told the woman “I would rather be with you”.

Lara said she has received abusive messages from different accounts she believes the person has created.

Lowndes and wife Lara have been married since 2015.

He has two children - Levi and Chilli - from a previous marriage.

The three-time Supercars champion retired from full-time racing in 2018 but has appeared as a co-driver on multiple occasions since.

Lowndes won the prestigious Barry Sheen Medal five times and is also a two-time winner of the Bathurst 12 hour race.

In 2012 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and was inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame in 2019.

Watch 'Mind Games', the new series from Yahoo Sport Australia exploring the often brutal mental toil elite athletes go through in pursuit of greatness:

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.