Only days after coming home from what she described as a dream trip to Disneyland, former AFL WAG Kellie Finlayson has delivered a deeply concerning update about her health.
Kellie, 30, was diagnosed with stage four terminal bowel cancer in 2021, just three months after welcoming her daughter, Sophia Jai, with husband Jeremy Finlayson, the former Port Adelaide star.
In 2022, she shared that the cancer had spread to her lungs. Since then, her treatment has centred on keeping the disease stable while preserving as much quality of life as possible.
But last week, in a brief temporary Instagram Story that could easily have been missed, Kellie told followers she was now dealing with liver failure.
During one of her regular Q&A sessions on Friday, a follower asked how her treatment was progressing.
Kellie responded: ‘I don’t think anything is ever going as to plan as anyone would let you believe, but I’m “OK” in medical terms right now besides my liver playing funny buggers (failing) lol’.
Just days after returning from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyland, former AFL WAG Kellie Finlayson has shared a worrying update on her health
Kellie, 30, was diagnosed with stage four, terminal bowel cancer in 2021, just three months after giving birth to her daughter Sophia Jai, whom she shares with her husband, former Port Adelaide star Jeremy Finlayson
On Tuesday, she hinted at her health issues again in an Instagram advertisement for food delivery service Marley Spoon, filmed in her Adelaide home.
As she prepared dinner for her family, she admitted, ‘Let me tell you, I have had a week already… it has been a slog for the last couple of weeks actually, but we push through’.
The worrying update came after she lived out her childhood dream of visiting Disneyland in California last month, for which she appeared to be an invited guest.
Kellie shared joyful images and videos from the US theme park alongside Jeremy and Sophia, looking radiant in sparkling Minnie Mouse ears, a striped T-shirt and denim shorts as she enjoyed the precious family holiday.
She laughed on rides, sampled theme park treats and met famous Disney characters.
‘I am literally pinching myself that we’re here (what is my life?!) and mind blown at how truly magical this place is,’ she said on Instagram.
‘We have sooooo much more to share but here’s a few happy snaps to start us off #invited.
‘I’m out here living my childhood DREAMS – kind of cool that Soph gets to live hers too.’
Last week, in a blink-and-you’d-miss-it temporary story shared to her Instagram, Kellie told her followers she was now suffering from liver failure
The family holiday came after Kellie underwent another major operation during her ongoing cancer battle.
She had a wedge resection on her left lung in June to remove active and inactive tumours, following an earlier procedure on her right lung.
Kellie has undergone more than 80 rounds of chemotherapy since being diagnosed in November 2021.
She had given birth to Sophia three months earlier and initially believed her symptoms were related to postpartum changes.
Doctors first told her she had stage three bowel cancer, but scans revealed within 24 hours that the disease had spread to her lungs and was stage four.
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Her treatment has included maintenance chemotherapy infusions and daily chemotherapy tablets.
Kellie documented her diagnosis, treatment, marriage and motherhood in her 2025 memoir, There Must Be More.
Jeremy and Kellie married in 2023 after postponing their wedding while she underwent treatment.
Kellie has candidly shared details of her cancer treatment
It’s understood Kellie and Jeremy are now preparing for a new phase in their life.
After being delisted by Port in August last year, he has since been playing for the Myponga-Sellicks Mudlarks, a suburban footy team based south of Adelaide.
However he recently confirmed he signed on to play in Darwin next year, for the Banks Bulldogs in the NTFL.
It is unknown whether the Finlaysons plan to relocate from their home in Adelaide’s western suburbs to the Top End.
Kellie recently admitted that, while she missed her WAG social circle since Jeremy exited the AFL, she found life ‘far less stressful’ – and revealed her family had been the subject of death threats from angry sports-betters.
‘I love you AFL for the opportunities it gave our little family, but also I love you no one egging my house or sending death threats after a failed multi,’ she said.
She added that there was ‘far less outside noise, far more family time. But also far less seeing my friends – the one thing I miss more than anything is knowing I’ll see the girls every weekend for a catch-up and a cuddle’.
‘[There is] far more flexibility on my own schedule [rather than] waiting until a Sunday afternoon waiting for [Port’s] schedule to be able to then create my own schedule. [It] was NOT it as a working gal myself,’ she wrote on Instagram.
Kellie has undergone more than 80 rounds of chemotherapy since being diagnosed in November 2021
Since her diagnosis, Kellie has become a social media influencer with more than 80,000 followers, and an ambassador for the Jodi Lee Foundation’s ‘Trust Your Gut’ campaign, advocating for early detection and encouraging people to listen to their bodies.
She recently told US publication PEOPLE magazine that she had experienced symptoms for seven years, including changes in her bowel habits, abdominal discomfort and fluctuating weight before her shock diagnosis at age 25.
‘It’s really hard to navigate what bowel cancer is because it’s so similar to just having a menstrual cycle, so it was really easy to just push it to the side and blame it on something else,’ she said.
She admitted she partially blamed herself for not demanding further testing when she first reported her strange symptoms and was only diagnosed once the disease had advanced
‘[It’s] also my fault because I didn’t take anything seriously, but every time they told me that I was too young, fit and healthy, I took that on board,’ she said.
‘I just took the medication and just let them tell me what was wrong with my body without actually ever testing anything… I didn’t take it seriously, so I didn’t push for answers.
‘But I was a young 20-year-old-something girl. It’s hard to expect that of myself, but knowing what I know now, God, it would make my life easier,’ she said.
The Daily Mail reached out to Kellie via her agent for an interview about her latest health news, which she politely declined.