Former WAG Nadia Bartel will appear in court in March on driving charges that could land her in jail or with a large fine.
Ms Bartel, 36, was charged by police for allegedly driving while her licence was suspended and failing to update her address, Daily Mail Australia has confirmed.
The clothes designer and former wife of AFL player Jimmy Bartel, was intercepted by Prahran Highway Patrol officers on Dandenong Road in the Melbourne suburb of Windsor at about 12.30pm on August 25, 2021.
This was just a week before she was filmed snorting a white powder from a Kmart plate at an illegal party during Melbourne’s lockdown.
Nadia Bartel (pictured) will attend court in March to face two driving charges, which could land her in jail or with a large fine
She will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on March 24 and could face up to four months jail or a fine of up to $4,500 for a first offence.
The police interception happened a week before an incident where the mother-of-two appeared to snort a white powder from a plate.
Ms Bartel said she ‘not aware’ her driving licence had been suspended.
‘In August I was pulled over by the police who advised me that I was driving on a suspended licence,’ she told the Herald Sun.
‘The suspension was due to exceeding my demerit point balance.
‘I was not aware of the suspension as communication had been sent to my previous residential address which I didn’t receive.
‘I would never have driven had I been aware of the suspension and my residential details have now been updated,’ she said.
Nadia Bartel (pictured) is facing charges of driving while suspended and failing to update her address
Ms Bartel (pictured) says she was not aware that her driving license had been suspended
The news comes just hours after the former WAG Nadia shared a powerful message about mental health, telling her fans it’s ‘okay to feel down’ sometimes.
Ms Bartel, who is known for portraying her gilded life on social media and rarely speaks about her personal feelings, took to Instagram on Tuesday to tell her fans it’s ‘okay to feel down’ sometimes.
She wrote that she’d had a ‘real crap day’ and was feeling ‘down and sad’.
Ms Bartel also shared a meme that read: ‘Don’t let bad days trick you into thinking you have a bad life.’
‘I don’t normally share how I’m actually feeling but I think it is important to know it’s okay to feel sad. It’s just a feeling and all feelings are temporary, this feeling will pass,’ she wrote.
Nadia Bartel (pictured) has regularly used social media to keep fans up to date with her gilded life
Nadia Bartel (pictured) lost some of her sponsorship deals after an incident last year where she appeared to snort a white powder
‘Tomorrow is a new day, and I need the bad days to appreciate the better ones.’
She concluded by admitting sometimes the best thing to do is ‘cry it out’ when you’re feeling down.
‘Cry it out (I used to hold it in) sometimes after a big cry and letting it all out it’s like a reset and I feel better,’ she said.
The now infamous video of Ms Bartel breaching Covid restrictions was posted to social media by her friend Ellie Pearson during Victoria’s sixth Covid-19 lockdown.
In the video, Ms Bartel was surrounded by other women who laughed as she leaned over the plate during what was an illegal gathering due to lockdown restrictions.
Nadia Bartel (pictured left) was filmed appearing to snort a white powder from a plate
Ms Bartel, Ms Pearson and two other women were fined $5,452 each for breaching lockdown rules.
After the incident was widely reported, Ms Bartel lost well paid sponsorship deals.
At the time, she said she was ’embarrassed and remorseful’.
‘I have let you all down by my actions,’ she said. ‘I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future.’
Ms Bartel did not face criminal charges over the white powder incident.
Nadia Bartel (pictured) told her fans on Instagram on Tuesday that ‘it is important to know it’s okay to feel sad’