Jimmy Bartel has made a rare statement on the breakdown of his marriage to former wife Nadia Bartel. 

The pair, who split in 2019, have largely kept the details of their divorce out of the public eye. 

The 41-year-old former footballer however broke his silence this week while speaking to the A Life of Greatness with Sarah Grynberg podcast, as he shared why he’s stayed mum on the end of his relationship.  

When asked how he navigated the split while in the public eye, Jimmy replied, ‘I didn’t really. I don’t see what’s so fascinating about myself.’

He went on to explain that he stays out of public dialogue about what went wrong.  

‘There’s nothing that I can do and say. And other people’s opinions of me are none of my business. And so they’ll form their own narrative, their own thinking or their own thought,’ he said. 

Jimmy Bartel has made a rare statement on the breakdown of his marriage to former wife Nadia Bartel. The pair, who split in 2019, have largely kept the details of their divorce out of the public eye. Both pictured 

‘The only thing that matters to me is the people that I care about and I just foster those relationships and it can be tough at times. You do want to bite back and you do want to respond… but people don’t care, deep down they don’t. 

‘The only people who care, are the people that actually care about you. And so that’s all I worried and focused about.’

Jimmy added that he will never speak publicly on the end of his marriage.  

‘I’ve never commented on anything to do about my separation. I never will because I just don’t think it’s needed. And so I just go about my business,’ he said. 

Jimmy addressed his split from wife Nadia shortly after they announced their separation in 2019. 

The retired AFL star appeared on 3AW’s pre-match coverage and insisted it was a ‘private matter.’ 

Suggesting things have been difficult for himself and his then-wife of five years, Jimmy said on air: ‘It’s not great.’

He refused to go into any further detail surrounding their break-up, adding: ‘I am probably not going to provide any commentary on it.

Jimmy explained that he will never speak publicly on the end of his marriage. ‘I’ve never commented on anything to do about my separation. I never will because I just don’t think it’s needed. And so I just go about my business,’ 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.’ 

Nadia and Jimmy, who were once considered the glamour couple of the AFL, separated in 2019 after five years of marriage.

The couple married in an elaborate wedding on the Bellarine Peninsula in 2014 and share two sons, Henley and Aston.

Nadia said at the time: ‘It’s been a very difficult month for me and the boys.’

‘My single focus now is to continue to protect, care for, and provide for my two beautiful boys as this is a personal matter,’ she continued. 

‘I am so thankful for my very supportive family and friends.’

Nadia and Jimmy first met in 2008 while attending the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix. The former Geelong Cats player proposed four years later in Mexico. 

Nadia recently recalled ‘the most intense experience’ she had following her devastating split from her husband.

Nadia and Jimmy, who were once considered the glamour couple of the AFL, separated in 2019 after five years of marriage

The Henne designer, 40, revealed new details about their break-up with best friends Bec Judd and Jess Roberts on their new podcast Vain-ish.

Nadia said she turned to meditation and breathwork to ‘recentre’ herself in the wake of her divorce because she was not coping at all.

‘I got into that after the split from my marriage,’ she told the pair.

Speaking of her breathwork journey, Nadia said that the recommendation came from a mate who ‘knew I was struggling’. 

Jimmy, famous for his tenure with the Geelong Football Club, welcomed a baby girl with his now-girlfriend Amelia Shepperd on April 4, 2023.

Nadia and former footballer Peter Dugmore went public with their relationship at the 2024 Australian Open tennis and the couple are still going strong.