@happy_tiger said in [Josh Reynolds](/post/1113671) said:
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David Riccio and Danielle Gusmaroli, The Daily Telegraph
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NRL star Josh Reynolds will claim he is the subject of a stunning and calculated deceit attempt by his ex-girlfriend who deliberately faked multiple pregnancies, used several aliases and even lied about suffering from cancer.
In a bombshell twist to assault claims laid against Reynolds, the Wests Tigers star will allege he is one of six men to have been caught up in a web of lies by a woman known by the name of Arabella del Busso.
The disturbing level of detail was explained to the NRL, NSW Police and the Tigers prior to him being charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm relating to an alleged domestic violence incident last year.
The 30-year-old is vehemently defending the charges with the astonishing claims against Ms Del Busso part of his defence.
The NRL has on Friday cleared Reynolds to continue playing while he faces the charges with the Integrity Unit and CEO Todd Greenberg deciding against standing him down under the code’s no-fault stand-down policy.
It means Reynolds will be available for selection for the Wests Tigers first game of the season against St George Illawarra on March 15.
The NRL is expected to announce the decision on Friday afternoon, along with the news that Penrith Panthers player Tyrone May will be free to resume his playing career, having missed the entire 2019 season while facing sex tape charges.
May, who is currently injured, is expected to be fined but will be free to play when fit.
It comes as a woman claiming to Georgia Barone, the sister of Ms Del Busso, insisted on Thursday night that her sibling’s pregnancies were legitimate.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that aside from key statements from five other men who have handed over thousands of dollars for various reasons to Ms Del Busso, Reynolds’ defence will also allege that the woman created digitally enhanced images of herself to give the impression she was pregnant.
An independent witness has also provided a statement to Reynolds’ legal team, which is led by high-profile barrister Margaret Cunneen and solicitor Dan McGirr, which will detail how Ms Del Busso allegedly asked the witness to help her inject fertility drugs, which would aid her attempt to appear as though she was pregnant.
The witness declined to assist Ms Del Busso.
On Thursday night Ms Barone told The Daily Telegraph that “at this very minute we’re just trying to handle what Josh has said and done.
“I’ll have to talk to Bella about this.
“However I can say that there is medical proof that these pregnancies weren’t fake … and that Josh is doing all of this to force Bella into dropping the charges.”
However, a follow-up phone call to The Daily Telegraph on Friday morning from a reliable source alleged that the “sister” was actually Ms Del Busso.
Reynolds’ lawyers have been contacted by other men supporting Reynolds’ claims.
An ex-boyfriend of Ms Del Busso, Michael Hayes, was awarded $7866 via a Queensland tribunal.
He sued for the money she claims she needed for a relatives funeral.
Another man has provided a statement to Reynolds’ legal team that alleges Ms Del Busso told the man she had cervical cancer, leading him to give her around $2500 for the treatment.
Under the name Bella Donna de Denato she had a medical certificate from a Doctor Galal Tadros in 2013 stating she had brain cancer.
Reynolds’ legal team will claim Dr Tadros says it’s a fake.
Reynolds will claim he met her through social media in late 2018 and saw her once.
Three months later she contacted the former NSW State of Origin star to say she was pregnant with twins.
She then told him she lost the twins, but quickly fell pregnant with twins again.
Reynolds went public with his anguish, when Ms Del Busso then told him she lost those twins.
“When I found out we were having twin boys I was over the moon,” Reynolds said last year, revealing the couple had built a nursery for the boys.
“I just love them and I was ready to take that step.
“It’s made me deal with something in life that I didn’t think I would have to deal with.
“That was something in life I’ve always wanted but I’ve sort of had to go along the lines that everything happens for a reason.”
Reynolds also discussed the difficulty of comforting his grieving partner.
“How do I comfort her when I’m struggling myself,” he said. “And because it is a lot harder for females because they go through it, growing inside them.
“I really wanted to be a man and be there for her too.”
Ms Del Busso allegedly told him she was pregnant for a third time but Reynolds defence will argue that medical records show she was never pregnant on any of the three occasions.
Through the alleged ordeal, Reynolds also claims he was encouraged not to attend regular check-ups of the supposed babies.
On one occasion Ms Del Busso asked Reynolds to stay in the waiting room.
Reynolds also claims Ms Del Busso told him her mother died and she needed money for her funeral.
The NRL star gave her over $4000.
Ms Del Busso’ mother Isabelle Preusker told Nine on Thursday night: “What’s been happening is devastating for a lot of people, and enough’s enough she needs to be stopped.’’
Ms Barone said her sister had nothing to do with her biological mum since she was of 17.
Reynolds will claim Ms Del Busso only filed the domestic violence complaint to police after she learned of his decision to tell his story to the police and after he asked she never contact him again.
Reynolds will appear in court today for an expedited hearing in to the matter.
Additional reporting Danielle Gusmaroli