Kristin Scott says she has moved on with former Wallabies star Bernard Foley, posting photos from Tokyo this week—months and years after her Byron Bay wedding to NRL former skipper Mitchell Pearce was derailed by a sexting scandal in December 2020.
Kristin Scott didn’t wait for the past to define her next chapter.
On Tuesday, the Pilates and yoga instructor posted an Instagram photo from Tokyo with former Wallabies star Bernard Foley, who currently plays for Japan’s Kubota Spears rugby team. In the image, Scott is shown with her arms around Foley, the relationship clearly back on the front foot.
“Sushi, shopping, morning runs, plenty of matcha, getting to see @bernardfoley do his thing and even a day with Mum and Dad,” Scott wrote. She shared two shots of herself embracing the footy veteran, and later posts also showed the couple exploring Nozawa—famous for its hot springs.
Her new relationship stands in sharp contrast to the romance that collapsed under public pressure in 2020. Scott and Mitchell Pearce were just days away from their Byron Bay wedding in 2021 when the NRL star’s sexting scandal surfaced. Pearce was forced to call off the wedding at the last minute after it was revealed he had sent “flirty” messages to a woman who worked for the Newcastle Knights. where he was skipper and starting halfback at the time.
The fallout was immediate and far-reaching. The incident cost Pearce the captaincy as well as his relationship with Scott. He first claimed the wedding was cancelled due to Covid before news of the sexting emerged. Scott, who had flaunted her $40,000 engagement ring before the scandal, ditched the jewellery after the story broke.
Inside the Knights, the anger ran hot. It was revealed that some senior players were furious with Pearce, and hard-running second rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon—described as a close friend of the club staffer’s long-term boyfriend—said he was “angry.” Pearce later fronted the playing group to say sorry.
In January 2021, Pearce spoke at a media conference about what he said was the damage to the people around him. “For me it’s been a traumatic few weeks for my personal life and those I love,” he said. “Unfortunately my actions have impacted the team and more importantly the people I have closest to me. Kristin and my family.”.
He added that he was taking steps to address the situation and that it would be in the best interests of the club for him to step down as captain that season.
By November 2021, Pearce was still carrying the weight of that period. “It was the worst year of my life,” he said. “Stuffing up your wedding, all the shame that came with that. It’s not easy.” He said the noise around the wedding and the families was difficult—“Super hard”—and that it left him tired by the end.
Scott has moved forward too. She opened her Scottie’s Pilates studio in Wollongong in 2024 and later won the grand champion title at the Australian Physie and Dance Association national finals in December 2024.
For Pearce, the rebuilding has been public in its own way. After finishing his playing career with the Catalans Dragons in France in 2023. he has described a complete shift in his life. He is now a teetotal practising Muslim after marrying his wife Lila, and the couple have a daughter, Aliya. Pearce has also said he is learning to speak Arabic.
Foley’s path has been just as international. He played for the Spears in 2020 after an eight-year stint with the NSW Waratahs. He featured at the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups. helping guide the Wallabies to the final in 2015. which ended in defeat to the All Blacks. Foley played 119 Super Rugby matches—every one for the Waratahs—scoring 29 tries and landing 244 conversions.
Kristin Scott Bernard Foley Mitchell Pearce NRL sexting scandal Newcastle Knights Tokyo Kubota Spears Wallabies Byron Bay wedding Lachlan Fitzgibbon Catalans Dragons