In 2015, Beau Ryan’s relationship with his wife, Kara, reached breaking point.

The high-profile former NRL player was publicly outed for having an affair with former Hi-5 star, Lauren Brant.

Brant’s former fiancé, Warren Riley, went public with the accusation during an interview with Woman’s Day magazine.

During a candid conversation on News.com.au’s Ball’s Deep podcast in 2018, Ryan spoke about what led him to that moment.

Watch: Beau Ryan speaks out about his 'affair' on The Footy Show'. Article continues after video.

“When I retired I was very self-absorbed and focused on working and providing,” Ryan told the podcast. “We spent a lot of time apart, and in 2014/15 I was working my a**e off but I wasn’t connected and I wasn’t really connected to anyone.”

The former Sharks player said “doors were opening left, right and centre” for him, but he was shut off from his personal life.

"I was in my own little tornado. I needed to take a step back and something needed to happen… and something did."

You can listen to the full interview here.

Image: Instagram.

The media storm that followed the shock admission was relentless, but fast forward to 2024, and the couple appears to be in one of the strongest phases of their relationship yet.

In a recent interview with The Daily Telegraph, Beau spoke candidly about how their marriage has evolved, with family being at the centre of everything they do.

"Our relationship is extremely strong at the moment because everything we do is for our kids, and every decision we make is that we sit down and go, 'How will this affect our family? And how will this affect our marriage?'" Beau shared.

"We make the decision together. We probably include each other more than we ever have."

Ryan also praised his wife, Kara, for holding things together while he travels for work. "She keeps the whole ship above water, especially when I'm away filming," he said.

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In a sweet post to Instagram on October 15, Beau seemed as loved-up as ever as he celebrated the pair's wedding anniversary with a slew of pics from the couple's big day all those years ago.

"Happy anniversary to my girl @kararyan_ You're the best thing that's ever happened to me…. " he began.

"It only feels like yesterday we were 19, eating seafood platters at Novotel Wollongong using my mum's Accor card and you were pretending to be Robyn Ryan to get that 50% off.

"And now I'm so glad you're a Ryan, and our daughter can use our card. Tradition."

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How did Beau Ryan meet Kara?

Ryan and Kara met in school and were high school sweethearts.

Their long-standing romance managed to weather the storm of his affair and they have since remained together.

The retired NRL player has also previously said that believes that period in his life shaped him into the man he is today.

“Kara has been through everything with me… we’ve been together for 15 years. We’ve had so many good and bad times. But to hurt her, and to know what it’s going to do to my family, I would never put them in that position again," he said at the time.

After the affair made headlines in 2015, Ryan issued a public apology on The Footy Show.

"I want to apologise to all the people who have been hurt recently," a grim-faced Ryan said on the Channel 9 show.

"It's been really really hard for myself and my family, everyone involved."

But the television host and former sports star kept his statement brief, thanking everyone for their "support" and "respect" for his privacy before changing the topic.

Kara also spoke to Woman's Day, saying that while she took some time to grapple with the situation, she decided to put her family's unity first.

"I know that Beau's a good person. It's not like he was this monster that I just couldn't be around," she said at the time."He was still a very beautiful person and a loving father. The grass isn't always greener, and while it was a difficult situation, running from anything in life is never the answer."

Do Beau Ryan and Kara have kids?

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A post shared by Beau Ryan (@therealbeauryan)

Beau and Kara Ryan have two children together — a daughter named Remi, 11, and a son named Jesse, 7.

Beau has often spoken fondly of his children, and of his reticence to be away for them for too long while he travels for work.

"I absolutely love this job, but I miss the family like crazy when I'm on the road," he told Now To Love.

"My kids are completely different to each other," he added. "My boy is like me – he's a bit crazy, but my daughter is quite chilled and calm. It tends to be my daughter and I versus the world."

The Footy Show star has also spoken of the time before they had Remi, when Kara had her own hairdressing business.

They made the decision for her to sell the business and become a full-time mum and, in hindsight, that was the wrong move.

“I come from a blue-collar area where the dad is either in the mines or steelworks, and the mum looks after the kids and that is the way it is,” he said. “My priority is my family… but it actually wasn’t because I wasn’t allowing her to chase her dream.”

In 2024, Ryan opened up about his concern seeing son Jesse follow in his footsteps and start up a footy career.

"Before my time, getting knocked out was a badge of honour," he told The Daily Telegraph. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about him getting a head knock.

"It is part of the game, but I think the game's in probably the safest era it's been because of so much emphasis on head knocks, injuries and recovery," he added. "But if he did get a bad head knock, I would second-guess letting him play again. I think every parent would."

He added to Stellar that having kids has fundamentally changed who he is.

"Having kids changes everything because you learn to put other people before yourself, which I never used to do when I was younger," he said. "I'm sort of used to coming last now. Whether it's food that's left over or a chair to sit on, you're the one who misses out. It's just what you do."

Feature image: Instagram.

This post was originally published in 2018 and has been updated since.