‘Beautiful’: Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel shares exciting family news

Geelong legend Jimmy Bartel, who went public with his new partner last year, has shared “beautiful” family news to Instagram.

Former Geelong captain Jimmy Bartel.

Geelong Cats champion Jimmy Bartel will become a father for a third time, with the three-time premiership player sharing the “beautiful” news to Instagram on Saturday evening.

The 38-year-old, who played 305 games for the Cats between 2002 and 2016, announced he and partner Amelia Shepperd were expecting their first child together in a gender reveal video.

Bartel’s two sons, from his marriage to ex-wife Nadia Bartel, are shown popping a balloon with pink confetti spilling out, signalling the baby will be a girl.

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“Baby Bartel, you’re already so incredibly loved,” Bartel captioned the clip on Instagram.

Channel 7 presenter Rebecca Maddern commented: “Jimmy congratulations, beautiful news.”

Former Geelong teammate Joel Selwood posted: “Congratulations guys.”

Bartel went public with Shepperd in December last year, with the couple celebrating their one-year anniversary in August.

“It’s been a blur, but what a year with you. Love you,” he wrote on social media at the time.

The two-time All-Australian, who won the 2007 Brownlow Medal, has served as a Channel 7 and 3AW presenter since his retirement.

The former Geelong captain abruptly announced the end of his marriage to ex-wife Nadia in August 2019.

The couple had been together since meeting at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2008, getting engaged four years later.

Despite all the interest in their marriage breakdown, Nadia has made just a handful of public comments about the split.

The social media influencer told Stellar in April last year that she was still struggling with her marriage breakdown.

“Being from Melbourne, football is so big here,” Nadia explained.

“I was used to the negative attention I get in my situation. I do put things on social media, so I‘ve put myself out there …

“(But) I was at the hardest point in my life and then to have articles written that weren‘t true, and to have hundreds of hate (comments) on Instagram and the continual pounding … it was difficult.

“Just because (you) date or are married to a sportsperson, people think you‘re fair game; you can say whatever you want. If you look at any other industry, do you critique their partner like that?”

Nadia is currently dating Melbourne personal trainer and model Peter Dugmore.

Nadia and Jimmy Bartel in February 2019.

Originally published as ‘Beautiful’: Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel shares exciting family news