Women were wondering if Luke Sayers was a massive grub. Then the text messages to his wife dropped
The dog who walked with us in Vietnam was the first to see the cobra. I cleared it in the woods a stone’s throw away. “Snake!” our guide shouted. “A big one!” He froze. So did I.
My husband is not like that. While the cobra and the dog were charging around, Chris pushed me, pushed past the guide, and got out of danger at a decent pace.
One of my favorite stories is about Dr. Smith to play Will Robinson. Needless to say, Chris was ecstatic when it was revealed that White House advisor Stephen Miller had used his pregnant wife as a human shield amid the White House Correspondents dinner scare. “See? It’s instinctual to save yourself.”
Certainly. But is this the right thing to do?
That question figures prominently this week in the saga of former Carlton Football Club chairman Luke Sayers and his estranged wife Cate Sayers. It’s currently playing out in the Victorian Supreme Court and the rest of us are wondering if Grub Island, my imaginary home for dirty dogs, has a new mayor.
If you’re not up to date, last January Luke split from Carlton after a photo of his penis was posted on account X. A female manager at a club sponsor was tagged. Court documents allege that in his legal declaration to Carlton, Luke blamed his wife for sharing the photo. He denied this in texts sent to Cate and released by the court this week. It was not determined in court how the image was published on the internet or who shared it.
Where I come from, there’s usually a sexual element when someone decides “this light is good, let’s pull down the pants and bust out our old penis”. It’s entertaining at best. However, here Sayers claims that the photo was taken for medical reasons.
Luke texted his wife to tell her that “nobody we know” thinks you did this and that “that’s all that matters.” My baby. It breaks my heart how you feel.
Meanwhile, he allegedly makes a self-serving statement that includes the mother of his children, whom he promises to protect forever. This makes him seem both cruel and cowardly.
Cate, thank you for standing up, not just against one man but against the AFL who need to rethink their due diligence processes.
I feel disgusting yet fascinated while reading the duo’s messages. If it were me, I’d rather have a candid photo of me posted rather than my private thoughts, considering I have three babies and so many people have seen my pieces.
In the text segment, Luke is pleading and trying to soothe Cate. His helplessness is painful: damn, I realize I could lose my marriage here, what can I say to fix this?
Cate’s anguish: “Find another hotel.” He doesn’t take cheap shots but acts like a tough businessman. The little details in his private words hurt because most of us have been there when relationships have gone off the rails and you’re either trying to fix things or you know it’s over.
When I got married in 1991, my Grade 12 Australian history teacher, Miss Whiffin, wrote in a card: “Marriage is like a fish: it can survive in deep water, on rocks and without enough oxygen.”
It can. But God, it would be cruel and unusual for someone to decide to save their own neck at the expense of their partner.
That’s why this cautionary tale ends. Not because of the penis. Australia has seen and survived many of these. Because underneath a man without trousers may be a courageous man who exposes his wife to poison.
Kate Halfpenny is the author and founder of Bad Mother Media.
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