Tess Crosley reveals the truth to those swingers claims, the real duration of her friendship with Jules Neale and the paternity scandal that won't go away: THE DEBRIEF

Tess Crosley has finally broken her silence on the explosive rumours that engulfed one of the AFL's most talked-about scandals.

The woman at the centre of Lachie Neale's marriage breakdown has spoken publicly for the first time, revealing there is far more to the story than previous headlines suggested.

For those who missed one of football's messiest off-field sagas, the Brisbane Lions star's affair with his wife Jules's close friend Tess sent shockwaves through the AFL world at the end of last year.

The fallout was immediate. Lachie stepped down as Lions captain, his marriage to Jules collapsed, and a once-tight friendship group imploded under the weight of intense public scrutiny.

Since then, Jules has relocated to Perth with the couple's children, while Lachie has moved on with new partner Emma Field.

Tess, meanwhile, largely disappeared from public view and rebuilt her life on the Gold Coast while enduring a torrent of criticism and speculation.

But now, in an interview on Daily Mail Australia's showbiz podcast The Debrief with Savanna Young, Tess has addressed the rumours that have followed her for almost a year, including claims that still refuse to die.

Among the most sensational were allegations that the friendship group had been involved in a secret swinging arrangement.

While stopping short of revealing intimate details, Tess suggested there was more to the swingers rumours than has previously been made public.

'There was a lot of context that people don't know... it was a friendship that just got way too close,' she said.

'Out of respect for the other people involved, I obviously can't talk about their private lives.'

The mother-of-one also challenged another widely held belief about the scandal, revealing she and Jules were not lifelong best friends as many had assumed.

Instead, Tess says their friendship had only existed for around a year before the affair detonated and sent shockwaves through both families.

However, it was one particularly cruel rumour that ultimately convinced her to speak out.

For months, speculation swirled online that Neale was secretly the father of her son, Beau, a claim Tess says crossed a line.

While accepting responsibility for her role in the affair, she vehemently denied the allegation.

'I just had a point where I was like, "Don't bring my child into this. That is 100 per cent a rumour,"' she said.

'There's no truth to it at all.'

For the first time, Tess explains what happened behind closed doors, the rumours she says spiralled out of control and why she no longer wished to stay silent.

The Debrief with Savanna Young is now available on the Daily Mail's YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, with new episodes dropping weekly.