Former NRL star Alex McKinnon’s ex-wife Teigan Power has gone public with her new love almost a year after their marriage ended.

Power made the relationship with Jake Nelson Instagram official on Thursday night, posting a sweet clip of them kissing at the Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular just west of Newcastle, NSW.

The couple were there with Power and McKinnon’s children, twins Audrey and Violent, and eldest daughter Harriet, who appeared in a series of happy photos on the post.

Power captioned her update ‘Riding the Christmas train’, with the post sparking joy among her followers, many of whom congratulated her on finding love with her new man.

Former NRL star Alex McKinnon and wife Teigan Power separated in January last year after five years of marriage, but the split was only made public three months later  

Nelson left the comment ‘Appreciate you’ under the post, with Power replying: ‘Appreciate you hunni!’ 

McKinnon and Power split up in January 2022 after five years of marriage, but their separation was only made public three months later. 

As they parted ways, both parties confirmed the split was amicable and that they remained committed to co-parenting their children. 

In April this year, McKinnon said he and Power were still bonded by a strong close friendship.

‘We are still really close,’ he said.

McKinnon and Power share three children – Harriet, aged four, and twins Audrey and Violet, two (pictured with their mum)

Power and McKinnon are pictured as they announced they were expecting their two youngest daughters

Alex and Teigan McKinnon (pictured together) were together for 12 years and married for five

‘Being a parent is such an important job and having a strong relationship with their mum is just as important.

‘We are still good friends, we both realise we are role models for the kids and we need to show them that being supportive of each other is the only way to be.’

McKinnon proposed to his high school sweetheart from his hospital bed just days after his promising NRL career was cut short in March 2014, when he suffered a devastating spinal cord injury at just 22 years of age.

He suffered fractures to his C4 and C5 vertebrae after a dangerous tackle close to half-time of a Round 3 clash against the Melbourne Storm and was left a quadriplegic.

McKinnon and Power tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in the NSW Hunter Valley in October 2017. The former Knights star promised his bride that he would rise from his wheelchair when he popped the question, and he did just that at their wedding.

Tears flowed at the couple’s 2017 Hunter Valley wedding when McKinnon rose to his feet to exchange vows (pictured)

The couple welcomed Harriet into the world one day before their first wedding anniversary the following year and they were soon followed by Audrey Jill and Violet John, who will turn two this week.

And McKinnon said that while being a parent was difficult in his conditions, his daughters made his job much easier.

‘Parenting while able-bodied is difficult, we all need to adapt,’ he said.

‘But the girls are great. Even at their age, they are so caring, very aware and very accepting.’

Now in his second year of his psychology degree, McKinnon is looking to mentor those who have suffered similar injuries or their families. 

In January, he revealed how a blunt phone call from supercoach Wayne Bennett lifted him out of a depressed and reclusive state. 

McKinnon is now in his second year of his psychology degree and is mentoring those who have suffered similar injuries to his 

McKinnon was left a quadriplegic after he suffered a spinal cord injury in a Round 3 match against the Melbourne Storm in 2014  

‘He asked me what I was up to,’ McKinnon recalled in a revealing interview with former NRL player Denan Kemp on his Bloke In a Bar podcast.

‘I put it back on Wayne, I asked how he was [at the Broncos], I was deflecting.

‘Then he said to me, start f***ing doing something [with your life]. What happened [injury] is devastating, but it is time to move on.

‘Find some actions in your life.’