Under-pressure Sydney Swans midfielder Isaac Heeney has returned to the Maroubra home he once shared with former fiancée Steffie Waters, who ended their relationship after the hotel stripper scandal.
The 30-year-old was seen shirtless outside the property on Thursday morning as he accepted a delivery from online retailer The Iconic.
Heeney appeared relaxed and smiled during a brief, friendly exchange with the delivery driver before taking the package inside.
His Great Dane, Nala, was by his side. The dog had been shared by Heeney and Waters during their relationship.
It remains unclear whether Heeney now has sole custody of Nala following the couple’s split, first revealed exclusively by the Daily Mail last month.
Heeney and teammates Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were stood down by the Swans after attending a late-night gathering at the Pullman East Melbourne involving three strippers, following Sydney’s victory over Essendon on August 16.
The three women later made police complaints alleging sexual assault. No charges were laid, and the women have since engaged civil lawyers.
The Mail is not suggesting that any of the named players is personally under investigation. Their suspensions stemmed from alleged breaches of the club’s code of conduct, including drinking and bringing women back to hotel rooms, and were separate from the police investigation.
Isaac Heeney has returned to the Maroubra home he once shared with Steffie Waters
The Sydney Swans midfielder appeared in good spirits while speaking with a delivery driver
Isaac Heeney was accompanied by his Great Dane, Nala, as he collected his parcel
Steffie Waters has been unable to forgive what she viewed as a betrayal by her fiancé
Heeney has largely stayed out of the public eye since the scandal emerged. He requested not to attend the Swans’ end-of-season awards at Sydney Town Hall on October 1, despite winning the club’s best-and-fairest medal for a third consecutive year. The award was renamed Most Valuable Player on this occasion.
In recent days, however, he has taken his first cautious steps back into public view.
On Wednesday afternoon, Heeney was seen walking Nala along the Maroubra coastline with a male friend. Waters was not with them.
Nearly two months after the Pullman gathering became headline news, Waters was reportedly unable to forgive what she regarded as Heeney’s betrayal after he attended the party with strippers.
Within hours of the hotel scandal becoming public, she left the couple’s $4 million Maroubra home and travelled interstate to Noosa to escape the media attention.
Sources familiar with the split said Heeney spent weeks attempting to repair the relationship and remained in regular contact with Waters, hoping she would change her mind.
Friends said Waters ultimately could not move beyond what she considered an act of infidelity after Heeney partied with exotic dancers.
‘She is dealing with the breakdown of her relationship, which has nothing to do with the allegations made to police. It is only about the fact that Isaac has been unfaithful, in her eyes,’ a source previously said.
Steffie, who fled to Noosa, is said to be unable to move past him partying with exotic dancers
Isaac has taken his first tentative steps towards public life, venturing out in Maroubra
He retreated to his home clutching a parcel from online shopping site The Iconic
According to friends, the ongoing investigation is why Waters has been grieving the break-up away from public view.
She felt unable to make a public statement about their engagement out of respect for the official process.
‘There are a lot more people involved than just her and Isaac so she is trying to be mindful of everyone,’ added the source.
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The Daily Mail makes no suggestion that Heeney acted unlawfully, only that Waters viewed his partying with strippers as a breach of trust in their relationship.
When the news of the strippers’ accusations first broke, trolls targeted Waters with abusive comments under some of her loved-up photos with Heeney.
Friends say the public backlash was particularly difficult for Waters to deal with while navigating her own heartbreak.
‘She is lying low as much as she can and she has support around her. We wish she could do that in private, but she can’t,’ said a confidante.
On Wednesday, Waters had left the country altogether, re-sharing a friend’s posts to her Instagram Story from Austin, Texas.
In one snap, she was pictured outside Allen Boots, a shop specialising in cowboy boots.
In another photo, also reposted to her Instagram Story, she was seen kneeling in prayer at a Baptist church, captioning it: ‘When you make it to Texas but our luggage did not and we need help.’
Waters and Heeney, who had been dating for several years, became engaged while on holiday in French Polynesia last October.
Waters shared two snaps from Austin, Texas: one outside a shop selling cowboy boots and another at a Baptist church
Trolls have targeted Steffie, leaving vicious comments on her Instagram
The wild party occurred at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne in August
With their model looks and prominent standing within the club, the two soon became something of a Swans poster couple, regularly attending official events together.
Waters’ social media portrayed her as a dedicated WAG who attended many games and proudly cheered on her man, the club’s blond-haired golden boy.
She often posted happy snaps alongside other Swans WAGs and even designed her own unofficial supporter outfit with Heeney’s name across it.
On September 19, in what we understand was her first tentative step towards moving on, Waters deleted several of their photos together, including their engagement post.
‘She could have done that in private but she can’t so all we can do is try and focus on supporting her,’ said a friend.
‘It’s sad. She was engaged to be married, planning a wedding, building their dream home. He was the love of her life.’
According to insiders, Waters has not been seen at the couple’s Maroubra property in recent weeks, which they bought last year and set about an ambitious renovation, transforming the single-level three-bedder into a three-level, four-bedroom home.
Heeney has previously said he enjoys living in the Maroubra area for the ‘strolls’ along the clifftops with Nala.
Nala has been by Isaac’s side through injury as well as his current scandal
Riley Bice (left), Chad Warner and Heeney attended Swans HQ together last month
‘I bought in Maroubra purely because it reminds me of Newcastle so that’s why I love living here, it’s my little getaway,’ he said.
The split news comes amid growing belief in AFL and legal circles that sexual assault charges may be difficult to prosecute following a review of the evidence.
No charges have been laid and there is divided opinion over whether a secret recording seized by police in early September, and hailed as shedding light on the case, would be admissible in court.
The Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions is expected to receive a brief of evidence from the sexual crimes squad by the end of October.