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Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia's most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip before it makes the news.
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Emerging eastern suburbs socialite Chloe Stewart - or Chloe Korner, depending on which social media moniker she's using - is dropping increasingly obvious clues about the identity of her wealthy, much older boyfriend.
The 20-year-old, who carries on like a Vaucluse housewife with an unlimited Amex, has been hopping around Europe draped in designer labels while documenting every five-star moment for her followers.
And it seems her boyfriend has been enlisted as her personal photographer.
He would have to be, because good luck finding the pair in a photo together.
The Daily Mail revealed the identity of young socialite Chloe Stewart's wealthy, older boyfriend months ago. Curiously, she is keeping him off her immaculately curated Instagram grid
Chloe is playing coy about the identity of her cashed-up squeeze, whom we previously named as Kiwi property millionaire Ben Cook. He was lucky enough to make her IG Stories last week
Ben's real estate investments span supermarkets, large-format retail and premium commercial holdings across Australasia
Chloe has been quietly dating New Zealand property millionaire Ben Cook for the past three months.
The Daily Mail revealed their low-key relationship back in May, yet Chloe remains curiously camera-shy when it comes to publicly showing off her older squeeze.
Instead, followers have been treated to an endless stream of carefully curated snaps from luxury hotels and glamorous European destinations, all conspicuously devoid of the man one would assume is footing the bill.
The mystery act has prompted more than a few laughs in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
Chloe is the daughter of Sydney businessman Ben Stewart and Olivia Korner, heiress to the Australian beauty empire Madame Korner, which reached the height of its popularity in the 1990s.
Her parents had a messy split in 2009 and later became embroiled in an embarrassing public spat that made headlines.
Korner ultimately pleaded guilty to a common assault charge five years later, with no conviction recorded.
Part 2 pending...
Married STAX co-founders Don Robertson and Matilda Murray Robertson are working through marital issues after their activewear label collapsed... which she's documenting for a price
From mogul to influencer, STAX co-founder Matilda Murray Robertson has a few words for her critics following the spectacular collapse of the activewear label.
Murray Robertson co-founded the size-inclusive brand with her husband, Don Robertson, before it was placed into receivership in June, just four years after the pair were named to the AFR Young Rich List.
Now, the 33-year-old has taken to blogging platform Substack to lift the lid on the aftermath of their crumbled empire, covering everything from the state of her marriage to her latest career move, while also delivering a sarcastic apology to those questioning her social media activity.
'Sorry I'm not acting how you expected me to,' she wrote in response to critics who snarkily observed that she had gone from owning every influencer's favourite activewear label to becoming, in their eyes, just another influencer herself.
In a post published on Thursday morning, which coincided with R U OK? Day, if you were unlucky enough to be cornered by a colleague armed with a box of KitKats, she defended her decision to continue posting online and attending events despite the drama unfolding so publicly.
'My job is to be online. I'm working in the brand consulting and PR space. I have to go out, I have to post, I have to network and I have to be at events. Plus, I also really enjoy it,' she wrote.
'After everything I've been through, I'm still saddened to see that if I'm online supporting a friend at their event, I will almost always get a message from someone making a comment that implies I'm not still working through the aftermath of losing the business, having my life turned upside down, rebuilding and restarting.'
At its peak, STAX operated eight stores nationwide. Last year, six of them quietly disappeared amid rising interest rates and tightening consumer spending. By June, it was all over
Meanwhile, it appears the collapse of the business took a significant toll on more than just the couple's finances.
In a paid Substack post titled The Conversation My Marriage Needed (Part 1), Murray Robertson revealed she and her husband had stopped getting along and were forced to have a much-needed reckoning in the wake of the business's demise.
'Our entire lives had been turned upside down. Everything we'd known for the past 10-plus years, the entire length of our relationship, had disappeared,' she wrote.
'We'd stopped being kind to each other. We were rude, bickering, taking things personally and making little digs at each other.
'We were having the same arguments again and again, but perhaps the worst part of all was the silence.
'You could cut the tension between us with a knife.'
As for what happened next? You'll have to wait for Part 2.
At one point, STAX was touted as a $52 million business.
At its peak, the brand operated eight stores nationwide. Last year, six of them quietly disappeared as rising interest rates and tightening consumer spending caught up with the athleisure boom. By June, it was all over.
The power couple's rise was not always quite as glamorous as their Instagram posts suggested.
In the early days, after relocating from Perth to Sydney in 2019, Don was still digging himself out of debt following the collapse of his first venture, Muscle Stax.
In one extraordinary bid to keep the dream alive, he applied for 36 credit cards in a single week, obliterating his credit rating and effectively locking himself out of traditional bank finance.
In July, I took a deep dive into Don's business history, which showed him linked to a bewilderingly long list of companies and domain registrations.
Many appear to be speculative ventures or URLs secured for a rainy day.
Their next move is anyone's guess. Maybe they'll livestream a trial separation behind a paywall?
Rich kid's rebrand
Another day, another cocky influencer rewriting history.
This week it's Sydney expat Matt Cameron, who has been busy peddling online what one person familiar with his past described as 'nonsense', prompting plenty of eye-rolls back home among those who knew him before he became the guru of all things wealth and success.
The 49-year-old, who claims to be 'worth millions' and once bravely told his life story on The Karl Stefanovic Show, uprooted his life in 2023 and moved to Bali with his wife and her two children after becoming, by his own account, 'sick to death of losing so much money to the tax office'.
But a cringeworthy post sent my way by an 'old friend' has apparently struck a nerve.
Cameron shared a photo of his stepchildren alongside the caption: 'My biggest flex is that my kids' lives look completely different from mine at their age.'
He added: 'And that was always the goal.'
Lovely sentiment. Shame the backstory doesn't quite add up.
'It is amazing to me, just amazing, the life he apparently didn't have!' the acquaintance howled.
Bali-based anti-ATO influencer Matt Cameron shared a post implying his children enjoy a life of privilege he never had. An old friend tells me he actually went to Cranbrook... lol
I like to call stepdad Matt and his wife Felicity Morgan (right) the 'King and Queen of Kuta'
'He went to Cranbrook and lived rent-free in Watsons Bay because his old man was the commander of HMAS Watson.
'He carries on as if he couch-surfed his whole life and went to Campbelltown High.'
According to the source, Cameron ran nightclubs in Sydney before reinventing himself as a self-made expert on wealth, success and telling everyone else how to live.
'He talks like he's Donald Trump and made it in downtown Bali,' they quipped.
Before meeting his wife, Felicity Morgan, Cameron was married to South African-born, New Zealand-raised model Cassie Matthews.
According to my source, that marriage eventually went 'tits up'.
Morgan, the mother of the children Cameron now proudly calls his own, has had her own financial dramas.
Her business, Felicity Morgan Coaching, was placed into liquidation on September 22, ASIC records show, after racking up an estimated $774,118 in unpaid tax liabilities.
The company also owes $138,803 to unsecured creditors American Express and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, as well as a further $76,350 in outstanding loans.
Morgan, known as Felicity Ludlow during her brief career as a reality star, built her profile as a 'business savage' life coach and entrepreneur, with a particular focus on 'shadow work', a self-exploration approach centred on uncovering unconscious beliefs and emotional patterns.
She now runs the Shadow World brand, which includes a subscription-style app and platform offering guided sessions, monthly journals, daily prompts and access to a private online community.
'You could spend $200 for one hour dissecting the past with a therapist. Or, for only $24.99 a month, you can gain the tools to stop your patterns in the moment before they destroy another relationship, opportunity or year of your life,' the website boasts.
What a colourful life these two lead.
From Sydney nightclubs to Bali wealth guru, with a little shadow work and a $774,000 tax bill thrown into the mix, it's quite the origin story.
I'm officially dubbing them the King and Queen of Kuta.
One seat empty
It was a bittersweet first Father's Day for new dad Mitch Cleary, who was notably absent from his fiancée Kate Watts' family celebration with their newborn daughter.
In a post shared to Instagram by Kate's brother, former Melbourne and Port Adelaide player Jack Watts, the family gathered with their parents to mark the occasion.
Jack captioned the family photo 'Much needed', tagging several relatives in the post, which was later reshared by Kate.
But Seven AFL reporter Cleary appeared to be missing from the family gathering.
The Daily Mail was first to reveal that Cleary had kissed a Collingwood Magpies staffer during an overseas press trip to the United Arab Emirates in November.
The situation unfolded publicly last month after racing commentator Kate called out Cleary and the woman, whom the Mail has chosen not to name, in an Instagram post that was later shared widely on X and footy gossip forums.
Kate Watts' family celebrated Father's Day without Mitch Cleary after his admitted indiscretion
Cleary admitted to kissing a Collingwood staffer late last year while his fiancée was pregnant
Cleary later took to Instagram to address the speculation, admitting there had been a 'kiss'. Sources at Seven and Collingwood denied any affair took place, and we do not suggest otherwise.
'I am sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I have caused,' he said.
'The kiss was a terrible error of judgement, for which I am incredibly sorry, and I am dealing with the consequences privately with my family and those closest to me.'
It is understood the kiss occurred during an off-season trip while Watts was pregnant with the couple's first child.
Cleary is Seven's chief football reporter and regularly appears on the network's news bulletins and programs, including Agenda Setters.
He also co-hosts the weekly Tradies podcast with fellow journalist Sam McClure.
The podcast is normally released on Tuesdays, but McClure confirmed this week's episode would be delayed.
Cleary and Watts got engaged in February 2024 and welcomed daughter Sophia in February this year.
It remains unclear whether they have ended their five-year relationship. Last week, Watts was seen leaving her parents' home on the outskirts of Melbourne with the couple's baby, while her husband-to-be was nowhere in sight.
Fairfax family drama continues
Former rugby union and league star Russell Fairfax's son, Thomas Fairfax, has been convicted of a domestic violence-related property damage offence and fined $220.
Thomas was also convicted at Waverley Local Court of possessing a prohibited drug after pleading guilty, although no further penalty was imposed.
The convictions come two months after Russell, the father of former 'It' girl Nadia Fairfax-Wayne, obtained an apprehended domestic violence order against his son.
Police sought the order earlier this year, with the matter finalised on June 18.
Nadia Fairfax-Wayne (right) is now the golden child in her family after her brother Thomas was embroiled in a domestic violence drama with their league legend father Russell Fairfax (left)
The two-year order, which remains in force until June 17, 2028, prohibits Thomas from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating Russell or anyone he has a domestic relationship with.
He is also barred from intentionally or recklessly damaging property belonging to, or in the possession of, his father, or harming an animal.
Under the order, Thomas must not approach or be in the company of Russell within 12 hours of drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs.
He is also prohibited from going within 100 metres of any place where Russell lives or works.
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