Under-fire Sydney Swans star Isaac Heeney has returned to the home he shared with ex-fiancée Steffie Waters, who dumped him in the wake of the hotel stripper scandal.
On Thursday morning, the 30-year-old midfielder was seen shirtless outside his Maroubra property, accepting a package from shopping website The Iconic.
He was seen smiling as he engaged in a brief, friendly conversation with a delivery man, before heading back inside.
Heeney was flanked by his loyal Great Dane, Nala, whom he shared with Waters.
It’s unclear whether he has taken sole custody of the dog since their break-up, which was exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail last month.
Heeney, along with teammates Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice, was stood down by the club for attending a wild party at the Pullman East Melbourne with three strippers after the Swans’ August 16 victory over Essendon.
The three dancers later made police complaints alleging they had been sexually assaulted. No charges were laid and the women have engaged civil lawyers.
The Mail does not suggest the players named are personally under investigation. Their suspensions related to breaches of the club’s code of conduct, including drinking and bringing women back to hotel rooms, and were not connected to the police investigation.
Isaac Heeney has returned to the Maroubra home he once shared with Steffie Waters
The disgraced Swans midfielder appeared jovial as he spoke to a delivery driver
Isaac was flanked by his loyal Great Dane dog, Nala, as he collected his parcel
Steffie has been ‘unable to forgive’ what she sees as a betrayal by her fiancé
Since the scandal broke, Heeney has been lying low, and requested not to attend the Swans’ end-of-season awards night at Sydney Town Hall on October 1, despite winning the club’s best-and-fairest medal – renamed in this instance to the Most Valuable Player – for the third year in a row.
But in recent days, he’s made his first tentative steps back into the public eye.
On Wednesday afternoon, he was spotted walking Nala along the Maroubra coastline with a male friend, while Waters was nowhere in sight.
Almost two months after Heeney’s night at the Pullman became headline news, Waters was unable to forgive what she saw as Heeney’s ‘betrayal’ by partying with strippers.
Within hours of the hotel scandal breaking, she fled the couple’s $4million Maroubra home and flew interstate to Noosa to avoid the media storm.
According to sources with knowledge of the split, Heeney spent weeks trying to save their relationship and kept in regular contact with Waters in the hope she would come around.
But after weeks of soul-searching, friends say Waters ultimately could not move past what she considered an act of infidelity after he partied with exotic dancers.
‘She is dealing with the breakdown of her relationship that has nothing to do with the allegations [to police], only the fact that Isaac has been unfaithful [in her eyes],’ a source previously said.
Steffie, who fled to Noosa, is said to be unable to move past him partying with exotic dancers
Isaac has taken his first tentative steps towards public life, venturing out in Maroubra
He retreated to his home clutching a parcel from online shopping site The Iconic
According to friends, the ongoing investigation is why Waters has been grieving the break-up away from public view.
She felt unable to make a public statement about their engagement out of respect for the official process.
‘There are a lot more people involved than just her and Isaac so she is trying to be mindful of everyone,’ added the source.
The Daily Mail makes no suggestion that Heeney acted unlawfully, only that Waters viewed his partying with strippers as a breach of trust in their relationship.
When the news of the strippers’ accusations first broke, trolls targeted Waters with abusive comments under some of her loved-up photos with Heeney.
Friends say the public backlash was particularly difficult for Waters to deal with while navigating her own heartbreak.
‘She is lying low as much as she can and she has support around her. We wish she could do that in private, but she can’t,’ said a confidante.
On Wednesday, Waters had left the country altogether, re-sharing a friend’s posts to her Instagram Story from Austin, Texas.
In one snap, she was pictured outside Allen Boots, a shop specialising in cowboy boots.
In another photo, also reposted to her Instagram Story, she was seen kneeling in prayer at a Baptist church, captioning it: ‘When you make it to Texas but our luggage did not and we need help.’
Waters and Heeney, who had been dating for several years, became engaged while on holiday in French Polynesia last October.
Waters shared two snaps from Austin, Texas: one outside a shop selling cowboy boots and another at a Baptist church
Trolls have targeted Steffie, leaving vicious comments on her Instagram
The wild party occurred at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne in August
With their model looks and prominent standing within the club, the two soon became something of a Swans poster couple, regularly attending official events together.
Waters’ social media portrayed her as a dedicated WAG who attended many games and proudly cheered on her man, the club’s blond-haired golden boy.
She often posted happy snaps alongside other Swans WAGs and even designed her own unofficial supporter outfit with Heeney’s name across it.
On September 19, in what we understand was her first tentative step towards moving on, Waters deleted several of their photos together, including their engagement post.
‘She could have done that in private but she can’t so all we can do is try and focus on supporting her,’ said a friend.
‘It’s sad. She was engaged to be married, planning a wedding, building their dream home. He was the love of her life.’
According to insiders, Waters has not been seen at the couple’s Maroubra property in recent weeks, which they bought last year and set about an ambitious renovation, transforming the single-level three-bedder into a three-level, four-bedroom home.
Heeney has previously said he enjoys living in the Maroubra area for the ‘strolls’ along the clifftops with Nala.
Nala has been by Isaac’s side through injury as well as his current scandal
Riley Bice (left), Chad Warner and Heeney attended Swans HQ together last month
‘I bought in Maroubra purely because it reminds me of Newcastle so that’s why I love living here, it’s my little getaway,’ he said.
The split news comes amid growing belief in AFL and legal circles that sexual assault charges may be difficult to prosecute following a review of the evidence.
No charges have been laid and there is divided opinion over whether a secret recording seized by police in early September, and hailed as shedding light on the case, would be admissible in court.
The Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions is expected to receive a brief of evidence from the sexual crimes squad by the end of October.
