Megan Gale 'wanted to protect' ex Andy Lee

Model Megan Gale has opened up about, well, everything in an honest new interview.

Speaking to Stellar magazine, the 41-year-old model talked about the highs and lows of her career, including the “diva” label that plagued the star after her 2010 breakup with comedian Andy Lee.

At the time, rumours swirled about her “tantrums” on the set of Project Runway Australia, the now-defunct reality show that she starred in.

And now, six years on, Megan is slamming the reports, saying they “blindsided” her.

“The only thing I could pinpoint it on was perhaps when I started seeing Shaun [Hampson, her partner of six years], [it] wasn’t long after I broke up with Andy,” she told Stellar.

“They wanted me to push [Project Runway Australia], but all anyone wanted to talk about was Andy and Shaun. I had to do my job and be professional. I wanted to protect my new partner. I still had a lot of respect for Andy - I wanted to protect him,” she explains.

“I had to shut it down. As a result there was probably a perception I was putting a wall up, but it was the best I could do at the time.”

Megan describes the rumours as her “worst nightmare”, and said they “really hurt”, recalling how people treated her differently - “more aloof, pulled back”.

Though they went through the most public of breakups after dating for four years, Megan insists she’s on good terms with her ex Andy, 36, telling the publication: “we have great respect for each other, he’s an amazing guy.”

She’s been with AFL player Shaun, 29, since 2011 and the pair have a three-year-old son, River.

After suffering a miscarriage in May 2016 at eight weeks, Megan is expecting again, with a new baby due in the coming months.

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She tells Stellar that while people focused on her and Shaun’s 13-year-age gap at the beginning, since having River that has died down.

“It was less ‘a fling with a younger guy’ and more ‘they are a family’.”

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