Prominent media personality and former Melbourne AFL star Garry Lyon has left Channel Nine after more than two decades with the network.
The shock announcement ends a 23-year tenure with the television network and comes after Lyons accepted a role commentating with Fox Footy alongside St Kilda star Nick Riewoldt.
![Prominent media personality and former Melbourne AFL champion Garry Lyon has left Channel Nine after more than two ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20171130155853im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/t/a/b/w/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gzup93.png/1511868282456.jpg)
The AFL football great's resignation will be a blow to Channel Nine's Footy Classified, but the network said on Tuesday evening Lyon left with their blessing.Â
"We've been great supporters of Garry for more than 20 years," a Nine Network spokeswoman said. "He's a great talent and we wish him all the very best for the next chapter of his career."
![Garry Lyon and Billy Brownless in happier times.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171130155853im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/f/i/r/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gzup93.png/1511868282456.jpg)
It has been a tumultuous few years for Lyon after news of his relationship with Geelong great Billy Brownless's wife Nicky broke in February last year, signalling the end of a friendship between two of football's biggest names.Â
Lyon, separated from his ex-wife Melissa in 2014.
Following revelations of the relationship he put his media commitments on hold, including standing down as a co-host of The Footy Show alongside Brownless.Â
Upon his return Lyon said in an interview with SEN radio stablemate Mike Sheahan in January, his depression had became so bad that he was forced to take a year-long break from the public eye to deal with his issues.Â
"I was battling at the end of 2015. I got myself into a hole," he said.
"You just stop enjoying what you're doing and I was regretting the end of the football season in 2015 because football gave me structure.
"Normally I would be relishing a break and getting away, but I couldn't and I didn't."
He also revealed he had sent a text message to Brownless, but that he didn't receive a response from the former Geelong forward and conceded he probably wouldn't have responded if the roles were reversed.
"There's no easy way to have broached that subject and I'm not saying that I was jumping out of my skin to talk to Bill about it," he said at the time.
"[There are]Â innate difficulties with all of that. Whether you could do things differently again in hindsight maybe.
"Nicky and I are together, and I'm eternally grateful that she was able to support me through the back half of this."
Lyon will continue in his role as a host of SEN's Breakfast show and will also call at least one game a week for the sport's station.
Fairfax Media has contacted Lyon for comment.