AFL legend James Hird has reportedly split with his wife Tania and moved out of their luxury Melbourne home.

The Hirds married in 1997, 27 years ago, when the Essendon player was beginning his ascent to greatness with the Bombers.

However, despite standing by each other’s side during challenging times, the Hirds are said to have gone their separate ways.

Those tough times included an enormous drug saga that engulfed the Essendon Football Club in 2013.

The former Brownlow Medal winner played for Essendon from 1992 until 2007 before returning to the Bombers as coach in 2010.

In 2013, the club was investigated by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA over a supplements program that saw Essendon players found guilty of having used a banned peptide, Thymosin beta-4.

Throughout the saga that rocked the sporting world and bittered Hird’s return to the club in a coaching role, Tania stayed close by her husband’s side.

Hird was slapped with a 12-month coaching ban in August 2013 following the drug saga. He returned after the 2014 season, however, resigned in 2015.

The reason for the couple’s split has not yet been confirmed, however, News Corp reported that the separation actually took place over a year ago.

Tania has recently been seen without her wedding ring on in multiple images shared to social media and has also ventured off on trips without Hird.

Hird, who has worked as a fund manager over the past few years, is preparing for a return to the AFL ecosphere, set to appear on Nine’s Footy Furnace.

The Hirds share four children, Stephanie, Tom, Alex and William.