The ex-wife of NRL star Brett Finch has made her new relationship with a former boxer Instagram official after her famous ex narrowly avoided jail for sharing child abuse material online.
Ellie Johnston, who married Finch in 2018 and shares a daughter with him, supported the former Roosters and Storm star during his trial for sending “depraved” voice messages about sex with young boys on a gay chat service in an attempt to score drugs.
Their split was made public in May last year, and now Johnston has introduced her new partner, former boxer Liam Hillen, on the social media platform.
Her first post with her new lover showed them enjoying a holiday in the snow, accompanied by the revealing caption: “Water whatever waters you,” in what seems to be a clear reference to her search for a partner who will make her happy.
Another photo shows the couple showing off their physiques as they embrace on Duranbah Beach in far northern New South Wales, dressed only in their swimming trunks.
Hillen also posted a video showing him riding behind Johnston in a bikini on the back of a jet ski.
He is a former amateur fighter who is listed on respected boxing site Boxrec as having two Australian Golden Gloves wins, both fights in 2022.
Their romance comes nearly two years after Finch, 43, was convicted of sharing “depraved” child sexual abuse material amid his crippling cocaine addiction.
Brett Finch’s ex-wife Ellie Johnston has introduced her new partner Liam Hillen (pictured together) in a series of revealing Instagram posts.
Johnston and Finch (pictured together) split in December 2022 after she supported him during his trial on shocking child abuse charges.
Johnston, who married Finch in 2018 and shares a daughter with him, captioned a photo of herself and Hillen (pictured together) with the telling words “Water what waters you.”
The former NSW Blues star was under the influence of drugs when he left a series of “twisted” messages on a gay chatline describing his desire to perform sexual acts with boys as young as 12.
He pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of using a transportation service to transmit, publish or promote child abuse, and was sentenced to a $1,000 good conduct bond and two years on November 23 of that year.
Johnston, who is the daughter of AFL great Wayne Johnston, supported him during his battles with addiction before his conviction and remained loyal during his court case.
The couple married in the Victorian capital in January 2018 and were living in Sans Souci, south of Sydney, with their three-year-old daughter Mackenzie while Finch faced the charge.
The ceremony was attended by coaches Craig Bellamy, Brad Fittler and Ricky Stuart, as well as league legends Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Andrew Johns. Finch’s former Roosters teammate Anthony Minichiello was best man at Finch’s wedding.
Finch had been in a Thai rehabilitation clinic 18 months earlier receiving treatment for drug and alcohol abuse and credited Johnston with calming him down.
“Having Elli in my life is a blessing,” he said at the time.
Hillen (pictured with Johnston) is a former amateur boxer.
Johnston posted tributes to her daughter’s resilience on social media after Finch was charged, but did not share a single photo or video of her ex once he was charged.
In December 2022, she broke her silence on the Finch scandal, saying, “This has been an extremely traumatic time for me, Mackenzie and Brett. And we now need time to heal individually and as a family.”
In May last year Johnston was rumoured to be linked to AFL star Dustin Martin, after the pair had dated for around nine months around a decade ago.
The couple holidayed with a small group of friends to Bali in 2013 before Martin ended the relationship to concentrate on football.
However, a well-placed source denied that the couple have rekindled their relationship.
Finch (pictured with Johnston) went from being a highly paid football and Channel Nine star to working as an apprentice forklift driver.
In January this year it was revealed that Finch was working as a trainee forklift driver after having to live on Centrelink payments after being rejected when he applied for 300 jobs.
Finch was also charged with violating the conditions of his release.
His lawyer, Paul McGirr, said Finch “has complied with all his obligations” in responding to the indictment.
“On the anniversary of his sentencing, for the next eight years, he will be required to report to the police in his local area,” McGirr said.
‘It is said that on the anniversary of his conviction last year he did not do so.’
The new lifestyle is a big change for the former State of Origin hero, who earned hundreds of thousands of dollars a year when he spent 14 seasons in the top flight and then moved into commentary roles for Channel Nine and Fox Sports when he retired.