Nadia Bartel's stunning fall from grace: High-profile AFL WAG faces hefty fine, loss of lucrative endorsements and Instagram freebies after video of her breaking lockdown and 'snorting cocaine' off $1.50 Kmart plate went viral
Nadia Bartel was left 'embarrassed' and remorseful after a video showing her snorting what appeared to be cocaine at a party during Melbourne's strict lockdown went viral on Friday.
But the high-profile AFL WAG stands to lose more than just her dignity in the wake of the humiliating scandal.
The 36-year-old is facing the prospect of losing her lucrative endorsement deals after the video was accidentally uploaded to Instagram by her friend and business partner, Ellie Pearson.
She also risks copping a significant fine for breaking the city's ban on home gatherings as Victoria Police paid a visit to her $3million inner-city home on Friday evening, just hours after the post.
Anyone who breaks the strict rule, which is in force across the entire state, faces a fine of up to $5,452. Penalties of up to $21,808 can also be issued to adults through Victoria's court system for aggravated breaches.
The damning footage of the mother-of-two snorting the substance off a $1.50 Kmart plate may also lead to her steady stream of social media freebies drying up.
The famed Instagram influencer, who has 559,000 followers, is held in high regard by businesses across Australia which send her free products in the hope she will promote them to her fans.
AFL WAG Nadia Bartel has apologised in an Instagram post after a video of her appearing to snort cocaine at a party during Melbourne's lockdown was uploaded on Thursday night
Nadia Bartel was visited by police on Friday after she was filmed breaking Melbourne's strict lockdown
The savvy businesswoman launched her fashion label Henne in 2019, with the brand quickly taking off in Australia's elite social circles.
The range of ribbed basics and knitwear, worn by the likes of fellow WAG Bec Judd and former Miss Universe Australia Olivia Molly Rogers, was snapped up by many women when the pandemic struck last year.
Bartel's blazers and ribbed crop tops have also proven to be a smash hit, as is the thriving SprayAus business she co-runs with Judd, the wife of former West Coast and Carlton midfielder Chris Judd.
She has changed her Instagram bio to remove references to SprayAus and Henne since the video surfaced.
Her numerous ambassador roles - with the likes of skincare brands La Roche-Posay, Ole Henriksen and makeup label Marc Jacobs Beauty - could be be in serious jeopardy.
She was an ambassador for the Melbourne Cup last year - a role she may be forced to relinquish this November.
Bartel has apologised to health workers about the lockdown breach in an Instagram post which has been liked more than 20,000 times by followers including celebrities and fellow WAGS.
She acknowledged she had 'let many people down' and was 'committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future'.
The WAG added she 'hopes to earn your forgiveness and, in time, your trust'.
A poll of Daily Mail Australia readers on Friday evening found 65 per cent thought Bartel breaking lockdown was worse than the fact she appeared to be snorting an illicit drug.
Breaking her silence in a post shared to Instagram on Friday afternoon, the 36-year-old mum of two wrote: 'Hi everyone, I have let you all down by my actions. I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future'
Ms Bartel was a Melbourne Cup Carnival ambassador in 2020 - it remains to be seen if she keeps that role this spring
As she attempted to pick up the pieces on Friday, Bartel was visited by police after a night she won't forget anytime soon.
Two plainclothes police officers were seen arriving at her home but were reportedly unable to make contact with her.
The officers rang the doorbell repeatedly to no answer, and were also seen making a phone call before leaving the property, the Herald Sun reported.
The Department of Health has issued a statement saying it was 'liaising with Victoria Police in relation to the alleged incident'.
The video was accidentally uploaded to Instagram by her friend and business partner, Ellie Pearson. The pair are pictured together buying wine before the party
Private and public gatherings are not permitted in Melbourne, where Bartel lives, under Victoria's Covid restrictions
The WAG is an Instagram sensation, with businesses lining up to send her products in the hope she promotes them (pictured, Bartel taking Instagram freebies to her car with Nathan Brodie in September 2020)
Bartel's apology - which includes an appeal for forgiveness from health workers - appears to confirm the gathering was held on Thursday evening.
Pearson, who filmed the viral clip, revealed she was remorseful over the incident.
'I'm just devastated,' Pearson told The Herald Sun on Friday.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Bartel for comment.
The video, which has been widely shared on social media, was mentioned at Premier Daniel Andrews' daily coronavirus briefing on Friday. Mr Andrews said he hadn't seen the footage but stressed that all Victorians should follow the rules during lockdown
The video was even mentioned at Premier Daniel Andrews' daily coronavirus briefing on Friday.
Mr Andrews said he hadn't seen the footage but stressed that all Victorians should follow the rules during lockdown.
'I would urge everybody to do their very best to follow the rules, all of the time. I know it's tough, I know it's difficult,' he said.
'Beyond that, I don't tend to comment on footage that I haven't seen.'
Meanwhile, Bartel has turned off comments on her Instagram posts after the
embarrassing video was leaked.
On Friday afternoon, Nadia's father visited her at her home in Melbourne and is understood to have stayed 30 minutes.
Nadia stayed inside her property as her dad parked his car and rang her doorbell.
Bartel, who split from her footballer husband in 2019, refused to comment to reporters outside her residence as she let her father inside.
Bartel has turned off comments on her Instagram after the embarrassing video was leaked
She has also updated her Instagram bio to remove any reference to her companies, Henne and Spray Aus. (Top: her current bio; bottom: how her bio used to look via an Instagram mirror site)
On Friday afternoon, Nadia's father visited her at her home in Melbourne and is understood to have stayed 30 minutes
Bartel refused to comment to a number of reporters awaiting outside her home in Melbourne
She is the ex-wife of retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel , a Brownlow Medallist who spent his career with the Geelong Cats. The couple split in 2019 after five years of marriage
Bartel had been pictured wearing the same outfit she had on in the video while picking up wine in Melbourne earlier on Thursday