Hectic times for AFL star couple Abbey Holmes and Keegan Brooksby with a wedding, a new home and now a reno

Abbey Holmes is a woman who loves being busy and adores a challenge, which is lucky as 2025 is turning out to be a particularly hectic year for her.

These days most sports fans would hear her name and immediately associate her with Seven’s coverage of the AFL and AFLW. But it was a round ball sport that she first excelled in.

Originally from Victor Harbour in South Australia, and from a sport’s mad family, Ms Holmes grew up playing netball. After representing SA at the National Championships, and Australia at an International Schoolgirls tournament, she moved to Darwin with her then boyfriend so that he could continue his footy career in the Northern Territory Football League.

But ironically, not long after arriving, whilst obtaining her real estate agent’s licence, Ms Holmes decided to have a crack at the women’s league and turned out to be a natural.

Within her first four seasons she was the league’s leading goalkicker. In 2014 she became the first woman to kick 100 goals in a season — in fact she ended up booting 105 goals across 15 games, with the highlight being a standout performance of 16 goals and 5 behinds in a match against Tracy Village.

The inaugural AFLW season in 2017 saw Ms Holmes’ fantasy draft scenario eventuate, when she was selected by the Crows, the team she’d obsessively followed since childhood. The dream continued as she was part of the Adelaide squad that claimed the premiership over Brisbane in the decider. But whilst she was brilliant on the field, plenty of people were noticing that she was the complete package off the field as well.

Injuries eventually forced her to think about a career after sport and following a couple of stints on Reality TV, Abbey was offered the chance to bring her footy knowledge and expertise to our screens behind a mic.

Since 2018 she has worked at Seven as an expert commentator and Boundary Rider, and in 2022 was named as part of the hosting team for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. This year you can watch her co-hosting Friday night Footy, and hosting Sunday afternoon Football on Seven. Her star continues to rise at a rapid pace.

Speaking of pace — In the last 18 months, she and her partner, former AFL player Keegan Brooksby were married at Uluru, and bought a house in Melbourne the same week, which they promptly started renovating into what they describe as a Hamptons-inspired coastal retreat — happily sharing every highlight and challenge along the way on social media via @pro_jecthouse2home

Her passion for fitness may have changed over time but it’s certainly never waned. In the off season, she trains other physically motivated people in glorious locations around the globe for Active Escapes.

Last November she documented her training regime in the lead up to running her first Marathon in New York, and whilst she didn’t know at the time, discovered she was pregnant. Which means this June, she will be adding becoming a first-time mum to her already packed dance card... and before you ask, yes, she is planning to be back at work as soon as she can after the birth.

Abbey knows only one speed: Fast. She was quick on the pitch, and she’s proving to be just as nimble and versatile away from it.

Check out their home renovation tonight on Better Homes And Gardens from 7pm on Seven and/or 7two depending on which state you are in, or you can catch up anytime on 7Plus.