OUR FORBIDDEN LOVE
Billy Brownless’ ex Nicky on love affair with Lyon:
NICKY Brownless will step out at a celebrity event next month for the first time since revelations of her relationship with Garry Lyon.
She and daughters Lucy and Ruby will be guests of Lavazza on Oaks Day.
The ex-wife of Footy Show larrikin Billy has kept a low profile since it was sensationally revealed in February last year she and his former colleague and best friend were romantically linked.
Nicky, 48, says she and Lyon, 50, are still happily together and that enough time has passed for her to feel more comfortable stepping out into the spotlight again.
“Yes, we’re still together and very happy,” she says. “We’ve all moved on and everyone is happy and we’re just getting on with life.
“We know the truth, that’s the most powerful thing. We know where we’re at and what’s going on.
“You get to a point in your life where you just want to be happy.”
The drama unfolded last year when Lyon took leave from his television roles on The Footy Show and Footy Classified, revealing he had been battling depression for months.
News of the Melbourne champion’s falling out with former mate Billy quickly emerged, with an emotional Brownless detailing on television how he had confronted the pair over his “hunch” something was going on.
“I had asked Garry and Nicky earlier on what is going on and they said ‘no, nothing’, they were just good friends. That’s what hurts the most,” the former Geelong star said. “A good mate wouldn’t do that.” Lyon had separated from wife, Melissa, in 2014. The couple have three sons. A year after the rift with Brownless was revealed, Lyon confirmed his relationship with Nicky was still going strong.
He returned to breakfast radio in January this year, saying: “Nicky and I are together and I am eternally grateful that she’s been able to support me through it.”
Nicky now splits her time between her home in Geelong and Lyon’s home in Melbourne.
Her daughters Lucy, 21, and Ruby, 19, live together in South Yarra.
She is also mother to two boys: Oscar, who is completing Year 12 this year, and 13-year-old Max, who is in school in Geelong.
“Life’s busy, I’m up and down a lot. Now with all but one of my kids finishing school you go from focusing on the kids and you start coming out the other side and go ‘Right, now there’s more time for me’,” Nicky says.
She says she is proud of the way the girls have handled themselves through a difficult period.
Lucy studies nutrition and Ruby is doing a styling course at the Whitehouse Institute on top of the many ambassador roles the sisters have taken on.
Supportive and protective of their mum, the sisters are excited to be having a day out at the races together.
“Doing it together makes it more fun. It’s been enough time now, everyone is happy, it’s all worked out,” Lucy says.
“I think everyone is comfortable where everything is at, we’re all really close as a family, our family is fine so everyone else should be as well.”