Mystery surrounds Isaac Heeney’s engagement after fiancée was seen without her ring amid Sydney Swans hotel scandal – but friends say the wedding is still on

Isaac Heeney’s engagement is still on, friends and family of the footballer’s fiancée insisted on Sunday. 

The longtime partner of the Sydney Swans player, Steffie Waters, appeared to be reconsidering her relationship after being pictured in tears and without her ring in Noosa on Friday.

But a relative told the Daily Telegraph this weekend that the pair are still a couple, amid Heeney’s embroilment in sexual assault allegations which emerged last week. 

The pair ‘remain in contact’ and ‘have not ended either their relationship or their engagement’, the publication reports. 

Waters has gone without her ring for the past ten days, the relative explained, after it was taken in for repairs at a jeweller due to the stone falling out. 

While the pair are still betrothed, one source admits that it’s been an intensely difficult period for the couple. 

‘They got engaged, he’s meant to be playing in a grand final, they are planning a wedding – this is meant to be the best time of their lives,’ the source said.   

Waters fled to her sister’s secluded mountain property on the outskirts of the Queensland tourist town last week, while Heeney remains at the centre of a gathering storm.

Heeney and four other Swans, Chad Warner, Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and James Jordon, have been stood down for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season after the club found the players had breached its standards by staying out late, drinking and bringing women back to the Pullman East Melbourne hotel early Monday morning. 

The sanctions are separate from Victoria Police’s investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the hotel. No charges have been laid, and the Daily Mail does not suggest any of the players referred to are under investigation or involved in any wrongdoing.

Waters, who is the most prominent and glamorous of the Swans WAGs, was seen looking visibly distressed as she made an emotional phone call on Friday afternoon.

She later broke down in tears before retreating to a remote beach in a string bikini.

Tellingly, she was not wearing her diamond engagement ring, which has raised questions about the couple’s future as Heeney fights for his career and relationship.

Waters has kept a low profile since the Pullman Hotel incident erupted in the early hours of Monday morning, retreating from the public eye as her fiancé faces intense scrutiny over his alleged involvement.

Her sighting came as the Swans face the biggest scandal in the club’s history after two strippers alleged they were sexually assaulted during a wild private party.

The woman at the centre of the allegations made a formal complaint on Tuesday.

It’s understood detectives are focusing on the alleged actions of Heeney, who spoke with police on Monday before he returned to Sydney. None of the players have been formally interviewed.

The players were allegedly in a room with naked women, one of whom performed lap dances, and that Heeney, who was clothed, was the subject of the complaint.

The Swans issued an apology on behalf of the five suspended players on Wednesday evening.