Thursday 20 October 2022 11:43 PM Jilted partner of firebrand senator Lidia Thorpe found out she had an affair ... trends now
The jilted partner of controversial Greens senator Lidia Thorpe only 'found out' about her 'affair' with a bikie boss when he saw it on media reports.
Gavan McFadzean had been in a long term relationship with Ms Thorpe, who was sensationally dumped as the party's deputy leader in the Senate on Thursday after admitting to a 'brief' romance with a Rebels bikie boss who is the uncle of AFL star Dustin Martin.
Mr McFadzean, who manages the Climate Change and Clean Energy Program at the Australian Conservation Foundation, took to Facebook to express his shock over the revelations.
Gavan McFadzean and Lidia Thorpe. Mr McFadzean hit social media to reveal how he found out Ms Thorpe was 'having an affair'
McFadzean is a climate change campaigner. Pictured with Lidia Thorpe frolicking in a pool
Gavan McFadzean and Lidia Thorpe in happier times - and before revelations about her relationship with a bikie boss
'When you find out via national media your partner was having an affair,' he posted alongside a crying face emoji.
Mr McFadzean's Facebook profile suggests the pair had been in a relationship dating back to 2019.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr McFadzean via telephone on Friday, but he is yet to respond.
Both Ms Thorpe's office and Greens leader Adam Bandt's offices have been contacted.
On Thursday, Mr Bandt described his former deputy's relationship with the bikie as 'an error of judgement'.
Ms Thorpe revealed she met Dean Martin, the ex-president of the Rebels Victoria chapter, through the 'Blak activism' group and they dated in early 2021.
'We remain friends and have collaborated on our shared interests advocating for the rights of First Nations peoples,' she told the ABC in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
It was reported a staffer claimed Ms Thorpe said she and Mr Martin were using the encrypted communications app Signal to carry out their alleged affair.
'They clear their conversations once a week, that they never meet at their respective homes … and that she was being really careful,' the ABC reported.
Gavan McFadzean's heartbreaking post to friends about how he found out about Lidia Thorpe's relationship with a bikie
Ms Thorpe said she met Dean Martin, the ex-president of the Rebels Victoria chapter, through the 'Blak activism' group and they dated in early 2021
Martin stepped down as president of the Rebels Victoria chapter in 2018 after his brother, Dustin Martin's father Shane, was deported to New Zealand over his bikie links
Martin is the uncle of Richmond Tigers star Dustin Martin - seen above during a match in Brisbane earlier this year
Hours later, Ms Thorpe had quit from her senior role in the party - although she remains a member of Parliament.
Ms Thorpe's relationship with Martin came to light after reports her staff had expressed concern about the relationship, given she sat on a joint parliamentary law enforcement committee.
That committee heard confidential briefings about outlaw motorcycle gangs.
The senator had paid tribute to Mr McFadzean –in her maiden speech to Federal Senate in December 2020
'I also pay my respects to the other First Nations MPs who have walked this road before me. And I thank my sisters Arika and Meriki, my partner Gavan,' she said back then.
