After three years of marriage and two children together, NRL star Sam Burgess and his wife Phoebe Burgess have decided to separate.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the couple have told family and close friends the marriage is over.
The split comes just weeks after the birth of their new son, Billy, who was born in December 2018. Sam and Phoebe are also parents to daughter Poppy, who turns two next month.
The couple have been married for five years. (Image: Getty Images)
Rumours of the separation kicked off when Sam’s sister-in-law Joanna Burgess, the wife of his brother and fellow Rabbitohs star George, shared a picture of the family at Christmas, but Phoebe, 29, was noticeably absent.
Meanwhile, the snap showed the extended Burgess family including Sam, 30, his 26-year-old twin brothers, Tom and George, older brother Luke and their mother Julie celebrating Christmas Day at the Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel in Sydney’s east.
It’s believed that Phoebe spent Christmas with her parents in Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
The Burgess clan minus Phoebe. (Image: Instagram @joanna.m.burgess)
The Daily Mail also published pictures of the rugby league star sans wedding ring moving bags out of the home he shares with Phoebe in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Photos also revealed that Phoebe’s mum Sarah Hooke, pregnant sister, Jemima Fairbanks and brother-in-law, Gene, are staying with her at the house for the time being.
The couple welcomed their second child William ‘Billy’ Mark Burgess on December 9 after a difficult pregnancy, and took to social media to share their happy news.
“Welcome to our world little big man, our hearts are so full. #FamilyofFour,” she penned on Instagram.
Phoebe shared this snap of herself, Sam and baby Billy shortly after his birth. (Image: Instagram @mrsphoebeburgess)
In September 2018, Sam was embroiled in a sexting scandal when he allegedly sent inappropriate messages to a 23-year-old woman following the Rabbitohs’ victory over the Warriors in Auckland in May the same year.
The woman claimed two unnamed South Sydney players had sent her lewd images of themselves via Facebook and Phoebe, who was 28 weeks pregnant at the time, cancelled a scheduled appearance when she heard of the news.
She then escaped the press with a quick Fiji getaway, but remained by her husband’s side.
WATCH: Five signs you’re likely to cheat on your partner. Post continues…
Sam and Phoebe met at an Aviici concert in 2014 and made their public debut as a couple at the Dally M Awards that same year.
Speaking of that first meeting, Phoebe told the Bath Chronicle, “Neither of us really frequent concerts but we ended up bumping into each other at an Avicii show in Sydney and chatted the whole time.”
“He put his number in my phone and we had our first date a few weeks later while I was in hospital with back problems.”
The couple then confirmed their engagement after a romantic trip to Greece and married in December 2015 at Phoebe’s parents’ property in Bowral where the bride stunned in Alex Perry.
Sam and Phoebe then welcomed daughter Poppy in January 2017 and son Billy in December 2018.
We’re thinking of the couple at this difficult time.
Sam and Phoebe on their wedding day. (Image: Instagram @alexperry007)
