Woman defends keeping her ex-husband’s surname despite divorcing four years ago

The ex-wife of a former footballer has explained why she's chosen to keep his surname despite getting divorced from him nearly four years ago.

Nadia Bartel was married to former Australian rules footballer Jimmy Bartel for nearly seven years before the pair decided to go their separate ways in 2021.

Many women who take their husband's name might choose to revert back to their maiden name after a divorce, but Nadia chose to stick with Bartel for one specific reason.

Considering your name is one of the most personal things about you, there was really no obligation for Nadia to explain her decision. However, after receiving 'daily' trolling about her surname, she decided to share her side of the story.

In a TikTok video shared last weekend, Nadia said replied to a comment which read: "Kept the surname I see."

The comment was clearly an attempt at a dig towards Nadia and her decision to keep her husband's last name, but it's far from the only one she's ever had.

She explained: "I cannot tell you how many times I get asked this question, trolled about this. It happens daily, if it's in my DMs, if it's in my comments on Instagram, my comments here [on TikTok], it's been happening every day pretty much since my marriage ended."

TikTok/@nadiabartel

Though she acknowledged she 'didn't have to answer' the questions, Nadia decided to speak out after getting 'sick' of hearing it.

For her, the explanation behind her choice of surname was simple.

She said: "The fact of the matter is, I want the same surname as my two small boys."

Nadia shares two children with Jimmy; Henley, four and Aston, seven.

The mum continued: "I'm very traditional like that, I don't see why I personally have to have a different name to my small children because my marriage ended."

Nadia added that she wouldn't 'go into the details' of why her marriage ended.

TikTok/@nadiabartel

She acknowledged that a lot of other women might 'think differently' than her, but she attributed her decision to 'the way [she's] been brought up', adding: "culturally it's just the way I am and I really want the same surname as my boys."

Though Nadia said her name 'might change in the future', for now she simply sees the name Bartel as 'the last name of [her] two boys'.

"I really don't know why all of you care so much about it," she added, as she brought her video to an end.

Her followers have praised Nadia for standing up to the trolls, with one supportive viewer pointing out: "No one would know who you were otherwise,"

Another added: "I kept mine the same for the same reason. I like to be the same as my kids too. Don’t worry about whatever anyone thinks."

Nadia and Jimmy first met at the 2008 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.