How Nadia Bartel found love again

Nadia Bartel has shared a rare glimpse into her private life, revealing her divorce from former AFL star Jimmy left her feeling “she’d never date again” until she met boyfriend, Peter Dugmore.

Nadia Bartel has opened up about her split from former Geelong star Jimmy Bartel and finding love again with Sydney-based boyfriend Peter Dugmore.

Taking to Instagram, the fashion designer and influencer revealed in a lengthy post that while she usually prefers to keep her private life “private”, she thought by speaking out on her experience, it “could help some of you who’ve been through a divorce and had children”.

The Bartels wed in 2014 and have two sons – Aston, born in 2015, and Henley, born in 2018.

Nadia Bartel has found love again with Sydney-based model Peter Dugmore. Picture: Supplied/Instagram

The couple announced their separation in August 2019 and their divorce was finalised in August 2021.

“I felt like my life had ended, which is silly to think now. You do think you’ll never be able to date again – I know I did feel like that. I felt like having two small children and not having time for anything else. It was really hard for me as well because I’d been with my ex since I was 22 or 23, so to even think about dating again felt like the most foreign thing to me, and I didn’t even know how I’d handle any of that.”

Bartel said she’d got to a point where she “didn’t even want to meet anyone”.

“I thought, I’m so happy with my two boys”.

She also opened up to her 530,000 followers about the work she did on her mental health to heal to enable her to find love again, saying she got “heavily into breath work” which she says helped her “deal with all the grief” from her split with Bartel.

“And then I thought, you know, I’m fine, I did so much self-work and inner healing,” she said.

“And then I thought, ‘Maybe I don’t even want anyone!”

Nadia Bartel is one of Australia’s most prominent designers and influencers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Diego Fedele

Enter footballer-turned-model Dugmore.

Bartel opened up about the beginning of their relationship, saying Dugmore had sent her an Instagram message during lockdown when she was feeling “isolated”.

“I don’t usually respond to Instagram messages, and I don’t know if it was because I was feeling lonely, but I responded,” Bartel reveals.

“I looked at his profile and we had some mutual friends and he looked like a nice guy. He also didn’t have a lot of posts – and I liked that.”

Nadia Bartel with ex-husband, Jimmy Bartel. Picture: Instagram

Bartel revealed she and Dugmore chatted online once a week for six months.

“I really enjoyed the chats but I never thought I’d ever see this person – it was just nice to chat,” Bartel said.

“I was in a good place with my mental health and I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I could be hurt again.”

Bizarrely, the pair met for the first time while walking around the Tan.

Nadia and Jimmy Bartel with sons Henley and Aston. Picture: Supplied

“I never thought I’d meet this person but there was something about seeing him and hearing his voice, his mannerisms, I just felt an instant spark and energy, which was crazy because I hadn’t felt that at all with anyone since my split. That feeling of connecting with someone and an energy, I feel like it’s a real thing.”

Bartel says the couple have been together “since that day at the Tan”.

“I feel like if I didn’t bump into him that day, I don’t know if I ever would have had the guys to meet him in person so I feel like some things just happen for a reason and some things are just meant to be.”

After appearing together at the 2024 Australian Open tennis, Bartel revealed the pair had been dating for two years.

Nadia Bartel and Lyu Masuda on Dancing With the Stars. Picture: Supplied

They were first spotted together in Melbourne in 2022 and then seen on holiday that December in Byron Bay, but they had not yet gone official with their relationship.

“And I think for anyone who’s struggling or going through a very hard break-up, I really do believe it always works out if you’re a good person and if you’re going through something horrible, you can’t imagine ever being happy again, and you feel like there’s no future, but things really do work out, it just takes time. It’s nice to know you can have children, you can have blended families, and you can be happy.”

She says she waited about seven months before introducing Dugmore to her boys.

“You have to be careful with that and we took it very slowly and they have a great relationship now because of it.”

Bartel says she and Dugmore have discussed having children.

“I’m older now so I don’t know when or if that could happen but it’s nice getting to the point where you can feel like that again.”