Baby joy for Kurtley Beale as Wallabies star, 35, looks for new rugby opportunity after not guilty verdict in sexual assault case
- Rugby star thanked his wife for staying by his side
- The couple is expecting their second child in May
- Beale hopes for one last contract in rugby
Wallabies star Kurtley Beale wants to put 12 hellish months behind him and focus on his new baby with wife Maddie and a finals in his rugby career with a foreign club.
Beale, 35, was found not guilty on Friday of charges he sexually assaulted a woman in the bathroom of a Bondi bar after a grueling two-week trial.
Beale, 35, faced a jury trial at Sydney’s Downing Center Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and two charges of sexual touching.
It marks the end of a year-long court battle for Beale after he was withdrawn from the NSW Waratahs by Rugby Australia following his arrest in January 2023.
While Beale put up a strong front publicly, he admitted that privately he was terrified and had suffered many sleepless nights during the ordeal.
“Oh god of course, that’s human nature when you’re in a hellish situation like this, those emotions come through late at night when you’re laying there,” Beale said. News Corp after the trial.
Kurtley Beale and wife Maddi leave during a break in proceedings at Sydney’s Downing Center District Court
Beale was rejected by the New South Wales Waratahs and Wallabies during the trial
“That’s human nature, that natural reaction, we have to doubt and wonder if the truth will ever come out, if things will turn out the way they should,” Beale continued.
“I just had to stay focused, train every day, and I was lucky to have the people around me who let me do that.”
Beale credited his wife Maddie as his source of support during the process, with the couple set to welcome their second child in May.
They had their first child – also named Kurtley Beale – just weeks before the alleged attack.
“It was important for me mentally to keep my life normal, and my wife and our family helped me do that and I will be forever grateful,” Beale said.
A relieved Beale hopes to land a new rugby contract, in Australia or abroad
Beale, pictured taking his son, also named Kurtley Beale, for a walk, and his wife Maddie are set to welcome their second child in May
Maddie has supported him since the allegations arose a year ago, admitting: ‘The last twelve months have been incredibly challenging.’
“It’s such a relief that the truth prevailed,” she said.
‘We can now put this hell behind us and enjoy the coming year and the arrival of our second child in May.’
As well as welcoming the new baby, Beale said he hoped to land a rugby contract both in Australia and abroad.
Outside court, Beale told reporters he was glad the “truth has come out.”
‘I have always maintained my innocence. My family and I have had a terrible year,” he said.
“I don’t really have a big circle of people around me, but the real people I do have, my family, my best friends, they’ve supported me through this.”