Exclusive: Inside Buddy and Jesinta’s post-AFL life

Following Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin’s abrupt retirement from AFL following an injury in July, he and wife Jesinta open up on what’s next for the pair and why his big farewell moment with his kids “initially wasn’t going to happen.”

It’s been 10 years since Buddy and Jesinta Franklin made their official debut as a couple. Picture: Simon Upton for Stellar

Since retiring from his celebrated AFL career almost three months ago, Lance “Buddy” Franklin has found joy – and, as he jokes, new levels of exhaustion – spending time with his children. That’s allowed his wife, model and entrepreneur Jesinta Franklin, the chance to focus on her work as the pair sit back and embrace their new life in Queensland. Now, a decade after they first officially stepped out as a couple on Victoria Derby Day in 2013, they join Stellar for a rare joint interview and photo shoot to reveal what their family life looks like post-retirement

Ten years ago, a young couple donned their finest black-and-white attire and attended Victoria Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse. While they weren’t the only pair enjoying a fancy date, they couldn’t escape the limelight. High profile enough on their own, top model Jesinta Campbell and AFL star Lance “Buddy” Franklin were now a bona fide celebrity duo.

“It wasn’t a throwaway decision for us just to go to Derby Day and make it public,” Jesinta tells Stellar now. “To be honest with you, when I first met Bud, I naively had these preconceived ideas about what a footballer could be like. But it became very apparent quite quickly after we met each other that this was going to be something serious. We’d been seeing each other privately so Derby Day was a big moment for us. We were consciously saying, ‘We’re going to make this public.’ And we knew that when that happened, it wasn’t just a dating thing.”

“There’s no doubt it’s a slow-paced lifestyle compared to Melbourne and Sydney,” Buddy says of the family’s move to the Gold Coast. Picture: Simon Upton for Stellar

Fast forward to 2023. This time, for a different kind of date night, the Franklins will enjoy the festivities under the Penfolds’ marquee as their two children – Tullulah, 3, and Rocky, 2 – stay at home. “Was I thinking back then that we were going to be married and have kids? Probably not, because I wasn’t thinking like that,” Jesinta admits. “But I did know that I’d found someone who I loved being around and wanted to spend lots of time with.”

To celebrate their official stepping out in 2013 and their return to Derby Day a decade later, the pair travelled to South Australia’s Magill Estate, the spiritual home of Penfolds, for a special photo shoot with Stellar. While the two rarely share professional gigs, their roles as “friends of the brand” made this an ideal collaboration. “For this shoot, I was going into Jes’ world,” Buddy says. “She’s the model. She was giving me some tips on how to do it. But it was awesome to get the opportunity to do it together.”

Adds Jesinta, “It’s not about wanting to keep things separate. It’s about the right fit and working with the right brands. It was kind of perfect timing. And for us, the thing that we loved doing, once the kids are down, is to have a glass of Penfolds pinot on the couch together.”

Read the full interview inside this weekend’s edition of Stellar, with Sophie Monk on the cover.

The two have been able to enjoy more of those moments since Buddy – considered one of the AFL’s greats and only the sixth player in AFL/VFL history to break the barrier of 1000 career goals – retired from the league in July after sustaining a calf injury. While the then Sydney-based family moved quickly to make Queensland their permanent home, they bid an emotional farewell to fans at a sold-out Swans game at the Sydney Cricket Ground on August 27.

Reluctant at first to say goodbye in such a public way, Buddy says he decided to do a lap of honour to preserve a special moment for his children. “Initially [the kids joining in] wasn’t going to happen,” he says. “And then, obviously, I was a bit overwhelmed by the situation. It was a lot for me mentally and the best thing for me was to be with my family.

“It was a huge decision because we don’t share pictures of our [children’s faces] on Instagram. But the best thing for me and Jesinta and the family was to have [them] out there with me and they definitely helped me through it, that’s for sure. I would have really struggled to do it by myself. We made the decision on the morning of the game that they were going to walk the lap with me and I’m so glad and blessed they were given the opportunity.”

Adds Jesinta: “There was a lot of commentary in the media around him snubbing the game. But I think what a lot of people don’t realise is that Buddy on the football field is quite different to Bud off the football field. He’s extremely humble and doesn’t like anything to be about himself.

“There’s going to be a bit of a give-back element in what we kind of do next,” Jesinta hints. Picture: Simon Upton for Stellar

“What surprised me was the overwhelming emotion that was felt when we went out there and saw everyone there to appreciate and celebrate Bud. The cutest thing was seeing Rocky in Dad’s arms, really lapping it up and copying Dad with the thumbs up. It was such a special moment for not only the fans, but for the kids and Bud.”

A week later, Jesinta was in Italy on behalf of Armani Beauty, turning heads on the red carpet at the Venice International Film Festival for the premiere of Michael Mann’s car racing biopic Ferrari.

While she may have looked every inch the movie star in her strapless black velvet Armani dress, Jesinta reveals she didn’t feel like one. “I actually felt a little bit awkward in Venice. I felt like I shouldn’t have been there and that I didn’t belong,” she admits. “But it was the most amazing opportunity. I hope both the kids look at both of us and think, Mum and Dad followed their dreams and they went after things.”

Meanwhile, Buddy was at home with the kids, where he laughingly says he “ended up being more exhausted than playing a game of footy. But I’m loving it,” he adds. “With football, you spend so much time away from your family.

So now to get the opportunity and [to] help out just as much as I can has been awesome.”

Spending mornings at the beach and afternoons on the trampoline is something the two have been relishing since moving to the Gold Coast, where Jesinta’s family lives.

“There’s no doubt it’s a slow-paced lifestyle compared to Melbourne and Sydney,” Buddy says. “It’s just beautiful. Obviously having two young kids, having family support has been huge. Moving up has been the best decision.”

Building a safe space has also been a priority, explains Jesinta. “It feels like a little sanctuary,” she adds. “I think we were able to achieve that to some degree in Sydney, but not fully. It feels liberating. This is what we’ve been working towards. We can still fly to Sydney or Melbourne or Adelaide or wherever it is for work, but for the first time in a long time, I feel like we’ve created a home.”

As to what the future holds, the two say it’s too early to make grand plans. “There’s going to be a bit of a give-back element in what we kind of do next,” Jesinta hints, adding that they want to shore up the fashion and AFL industries in which they’ve both thrived. “For now, it’s nice being able to just sit in life… For us, getting some chickens and starting a veggie garden is where we’re at.”

Buddy agrees. “I’m just enjoying retirement at the moment, just switching off and being with the family. I think that’s the number-one priority. Then once it gets to the new year, I’ll start making decisions on what I want to do.”