"I’ll protect my husband." Phoebe Burgess on her decision to stay with Sam.

After months of speculation, Instagram ‘clues’ and ‘unnamed sources’, Phoebe Burgess has addressed the state of her marriage to Sam Burgess.

The journalist, who appeared to have separated with her South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL player husband at the end of 2018, spoke to Stellar magazine on Sunday, confirming she and the father of their two young children are still together.

“We are together, we are married,” Phoebe told Stellar.

“The main thing I’d like to say is that we’re a young family and we’re learning every single day. Sam and I will have good days and we’ll have trying days. We’ll have challenges but it’s how you deal with those challenges together.

“Every single person on this planet who is married knows it isn’t perfect. It’s never going to be perfect… I’ve always believed that in the end, love conquers all.”

This interview comes a week after Phoebe posted an image of herself and Sam celebrating his 30th birthday on Instagram for the first time since the sexting scandal broke.

 

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3 0 ???? and maturing nicely …

A post shared by PHOEBE BURGESS (@mrsphoebeburgess) on Apr 20, 2019 at 3:21pm PDT

While the exact details of what happened between the high-profile couple will “always and forever just be between Sam and I,” Phoebe told the publication, reports of a separation began in September, 2018, when Sam Burgess was unmasked as one of multiple Rabbitohs players embroiled in a sexting scandal.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Sam was among a group of players who exposed themselves, without consent, to a 23-year-old woman in a series of video chats – an exchange, she said, that left her feeling “violated and uncomfortable”. The woman, who has not been identified, shared screenshots of the footage reportedly taken the evening of May 26, in which a man flashes his backside and another shows his bare torso and genitals.

At the time, Phoebe Burgess was six months pregnant with the couple’s second child, William, younger brother to their daughter, Poppy.

 

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In an exclusive interview, @mrsphoebeburgess opens up for the first time about the scandalous events of the past seven months, and confirms where things stand with her marriage to NRL star husband Sam. Out now. Photography: @stevenchee  Styling: @kellyahume  Interview: @angelamollard  Hair: @travisbalckehair Make-Up: @nomesmcfad Phoebe wears: @matinstudio dress Poppy wears: @numero74_official top and pants Billy wears: @numero74_official bloomers

A post shared by Stellar (@stellarmag) on Apr 27, 2019 at 1:08pm PDT

Phoebe remained silent as her husband’s scandal played out in the media, however, after giving birth to their son, reports that she would leave Sam intensified.

The rumours came to a head after Christmas Day last year, after an Instagram photo shared by Sam’s sister-in-law showed the 30-year-old in attendance at a family gathering without his wife, who had given birth just two weeks earlier.

Joanna Burgess, the wife of Sam’s brother George, shared a photo of the family on her Instagram with the caption ‘Chrissy Crew’. She also added, ‘best one yet,’ which many have taken to be a swipe at Phoebe, who was not in attendance. She later confirmed the post was unrelated to Phoebe and Sam’s marriage.

Phoebe and Sam Burgess began dating in 2014 and were engaged in June the following year. The couple married in December, 2015.

You can read Stellar’s full profile on Phoebe Burgess here.