Jimmy Bartel hits back at troll who compared him to killer dad Rowan Baxter

Jimmy Bartel has slammed an internet troll who compared his split with wife Nadia to the heinous crimes of Rowan Baxter — calling the two men’s actions “emotionally equivalent”.

Jimmy Bartel has hit back at a vengeful troll who compared his split with wife Nadia to the heinous crimes of Rowan Baxter — who killed his wife and three children in Brisbane earlier this week.

The retired Geelong Cats star slammed the shock comparison in an Instagram story, after a female follower bizarrely compared the two men’s actions as “emotionally equivalent”.

“A marriage breakdown is NOT murdering your wife and kids!” Bartel wrote over a screenshot of the message.

“Tearing down people trying to highlight a major issue in this country is not the way forward.”

Adding to the offensive nature of the claim was that it was penned in response to Bartel, a longtime domestic violence campaigner, publicly condemning Baxter’s actions.

“No excuse or reasoning can ever condone the actions of this man,” he told followers earlier on Friday.

Nadia and Jimmy Bartel split in 2019. Picture: Instagram

“No matter what the circumstances are, to do what you did is pure cowardice, weakness and a blatant disregard for your family’s life.

“I hope you rot in hell.”

Rowan Baxter killed his wife Hannah Clarke and three children Laianah, six, Aaliyah, four, and three-year-old Trey after deliberately setting their car alight in suburban Brisbane on Wednesday.

All three youngsters died at the scene while their mother succumbed to her injuries in hospital later that day.

Ms Clarke was heard by witnesses shouting “he’s poured petrol on me” as she was pulled out of the burning car. Her estranged husband died from reportedly self-inflicted stab wounds.

Hannah Clarke and her children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey.

Jimmy and Nadia Bartel announced their separation last August following a five-year stint as one of Melbourne’s most high profile couples.

Although both have remained tight-lipped on the exact details, Bartel was pictured with now-girlfriend Lauren Mand just weeks later while enjoying a four-hour-long lunchtime catch up in Sydney.

Mand, who was at the time based in London, later moved back to Melbourne amid claims she had been in a “long-term” romance with the married father-of-two.

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Jimmy Bartel has previously been open about his own parents’ history with domestic violence, telling the Herald Sun of his experiences in 2016 in a bid to raise awareness.

“I remember mum being on the floor in the hallway; he had repeatedly hit her and she was trying to crawl away from him,” Bartel said at the time.

“I tried to get in between him and mum, and I was the next to get thrown, into an old-fashioned bureau. He belted mum one more time before he left. That was a major turning point in my life.”

Originally published as Jimmy Bartel hits back at troll who compared him to killer dad Rowan Baxter