While the king of the rugby league was smiling during his second marriage on Saturday, the distinct absence of the children of Wally Lewis speaks volumes about the family pain that still persists from his first marriage.
“The King”, now 65, made the knot with the Townsville volunteer, Lynda Adams, during a picturesque Brisbane ceremony.
The couple celebrated their wishes surrounded by friends and family at the Anglican St Mary church from Heritage to Kangaroo Point.
After the service, the guests were transported by the coach to a sumptuous reception in the former government house in the heart of the Brisbane CBD.
However, ex Jacqueline de Wally and three children – Lincoln, 37, Jamie Lee, 34, and Mitchell, 26 years old – were visibly absent from the celebrations.
The non-presentations highlight the friction, the pain and the current factions which still divide the Lewis family five years after the rupture of the first marriage of the Immortal Rugby League.
Wally Lewis married Lynda Adams to Brisbane on Saturday (photo), but her ex-wife and his children were significantly absent from the celebrations
Lewis, illustrated in happier moments with his children and grandchildren, denied that there is a family quarrel because of his new relationship
Lewis (illustrated to play for Queensland in 1990) was married to Jacqueline Green for 36 years after the two connected during her days of play
Lewis married Jacqueline Green during a fairytale ceremony at St John’s cathedral, Brisbane in November 1984.
Their love story started a year earlier when Lewis, already a football star, met Jacqui on Nobbys beach at the Gold Coast.
Smitten from the start, Lewis courted Jacqui with flowers and invitations until she finally agreed to go out with him a few days before going to England to play for Wakefield Trinity.
Sixteen days later, he proposed.
By marrying Lewis, Jacqui assumed the role not only of the wife, but of the secretary, the spokesperson and the media representative, standing next to him during his meteoric ascent to undoubtedly become the best player in the rugby league on the planet.
The couple had three children together – Mitchell, Lincoln and Jamie -Lee.
Mitchell has built a career on the radio, Lincoln has found renown as an actor at home and outside, while Jamie-Lee excelled in sport after overcoming a deafness.
The dedication of Wally to the family was never more obvious in 1991, when he retired from the original state of Footy to prioritize time with his young daughter.
Throughout Wally’s health battles, including epilepsy and depression, Jacqui remained a constant and faithful partner.
The couple was together for almost four decades and released many challenges of life, including the diagnosis of Lewis epilepsy
Lewis and his son Lincoln would have been distant, with Lincoln in Brisbane at the same time as his father’s marriage, but not during the ceremony
The children of Lewis would have taken their mother’s side after having emerged that their father had perhaps seen Lynda when he was still married to Jacquie
In his outdoor autobiography, Wally praised Jacqui’s unshakeable support during the darkest moments of his life.
“She was a wonderful partner to have – through good and bad times, by illness and health. She had a lot of this, “he wrote.
For decades, the Lewis family was a symbol of the pride and unity of Queensland.
However, after 36 years of marriage, Wally and Jacqui quietly separated in 2020.
Channel Neuf later confirmed the split in a declaration of February 2021, calling it “a difficult period for everyone in the family”.
“I want to recognize pain and upset my family since Jacqui and I separated last year. I hope that over time, we can rebuild, “Lewis said in a statement.
Shortly after, Wally confirmed that he had found love with the volunteer and writer of Townsville, Lynda Adams.
Reports have emerged that the new relationship could have started before the end of his marriage, the family ties were more linked.
The calendar of Lewis and Lynda Adams (photo together) in public with their relationship was questioned by family members
Lincoln published this image on his Instagram account the same day as his father’s marriage, to which he did not attend
“Jamie -Lee was mortified when her father told him that he was getting married again – I don’t think none of the three children will forgive their father to have injured their mother,” a close friend revealed.
Lincoln, Mitchell and Jamie-Lee would have chosen to line up on the side of Jacqui and moved away from their father.
Lincoln, once close to Wally, refused contact after the split.
“We have all gathered, we are a tight family unit. She has incredible friends around her ” said Lincoln in 2021.
The same day as the wedding, Lincoln published an image on his Instagram account announcing that he would be the MC at Australian Tourism Exchange 2025 at the Brisbane Convention Center instead of being present at the wedding.
“Among the formalities, that’s about where I can be on stage to yapping how I like it,” he posted.
The next day, he was on the Gold Coast for a film festival, watching Star Wars with his nephews.
Jacqui has also sold the longtime house of the family in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane de Birkdale, more symbolizing the end of an era.
Lewis children have been solid supporters of their mother since it was revealed that their father had evolved with Adams
Despite Wally’s public insistence that “there is no family quarrel”, relations have remained visibly tense.
At the end of 2024, Wally proposed to Lynda, planning a tropical marriage of Queensland for the following year.
Lynda’s daughter Sydney was part of the wedding party, but Wally’s children and grandchildren were not.
“They would see their father’s marriage to witness the marriage of their mother to their mother,” said a source close to the family.
About 40 guests attended the ceremony, including the best man in Lewis and his colleague Gene Miles and his compatriot of the Great Rugby League and the star of Channel Nine Paul ‘Fatty’ Vautin.
The family initiates say that Wally remains “ Belté ” with Lynda, but the fallout with her children throw a shadow on the new marriage.
Lewis announced on national television that he could have cte, with Lynda by his side
While Jacqui has progressed, prospering in a new retail career and cherishing with his grandchildren, sadness lingers on broken family obligations.
“She is sad for their three children who barely see their father, but in many ways, she is relieved that she can now enjoy a brand new chapter in her life,” said a family friend.
Since separation, Jacqui has made trips abroad and has found renewed happiness.
Meanwhile, Wally, 65, is faced with serious health challenges, including a likely diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
He announced this diagnosis over 60 minutes in 2023, with the help of Lynda.
“There is the big one. I don’t even remember the name of what’s named, ‘replied Lewis.
“CTE probable,” said Lynda from off screen.
