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Sydney fitness guru and one-time media golden boy Jono Castano is weathering his first real wave of bad press as his messy break-up with model Simone Holtznagel erupts in full view of the public.
For years, Castano was hailed as Australia's foremost 'celebrity personal trainer', appearing everywhere from tabloids to breakfast TV and even the American press.
A cursory Google search reveals the 35-year-old Acero gym owner's list of trainees includes the likes of Rebel Wilson and Rita Ora, among others. It's an impressive résumé and indeed there is plenty of video evidence to show he does train stars.
But is it up to date?
Castano was first described in the media - including by the Mail - as a fitness guru with famous clients in 2019. By 2020, the label stuck thanks to his association with Wilson at a time when she slimmed down significantly.
But sources claim that while Wilson did once have a professional relationship with Castano, she eventually grew tired of seeing how frequently her name appeared in media stories referencing him or his Kensington gym, Acero.
Fitness guru and one-time media golden boy Jono Castano is weathering his first real wave of bad press as his messy break-up with model Simone Holtznagel erupts in full view of the public
For years, Castano (right, with Holtznagel) was hailed as Australia's foremost 'celebrity personal trainer', appearing everywhere from tabloids to breakfast TV and even the U.S. press
A spokesperson for Wilson claimed as much in an email to us this week.
They said the Bridesmaids actress had paid Castano for several workouts, but ceased training with him when she returned from overseas a few months later.
The representative went on to claim that, as Castano's prior association with Wilson helped his profile grow, her team reached out to Castano, seeking to put some distance between them.
Something similar appears to have happened in May 2023, when a local representative for Rita Ora contacted the Mail to request her name be removed from an article that described Castano as her Australian trainer.
The email clarified that the British singer - who is married to Oscar-winning New Zealand film director Taika Waititi - had only worked with Castano 'two to three times' and had been training with someone else during her recent visit to the country.
A year later, in 2024, Castano released a book titled It Starts Today, leaning into his by-then well-established reputation as a trainer.
According to industry murmurs, the wording on the cover was tweaked after Wilson's camp objected.
Indeed, the book's original tagline described Castano as 'personal trainer to Rebel Wilson, Richard Branson and Hugh Sheridan'.
In May 2023, a local representative for pop star Rita Ora contacted Daily Mail to request her name be removed from an article that described Castano as her Australian trainer
According to industry murmurs, the wording on the cover of Castano's 2024 book It Starts Today was tweaked after Rebel Wilson's camp objected
The book's original tagline described Castano as 'personal trainer to Rebel Wilson, Richard Branson and Hugh Sheridan'. It was later updated to: 'Celebrity personal trainer and founder of Acero gym'
It was later updated to: 'Celebrity personal trainer and founder of Acero gym'.
We are not suggesting Castano hasn't trained the celebrities he namechecks - there is footage of them working out together - nor are we saying he was personally responsible for the original wording on his book cover or, indeed, for how the press chose to frame him as a trainer-to-the-stars.
Further, it's not unusual in the fitness and entertainment industries for celebrity training relationships to be short-term, especially when travel schedules or filming commitments intervene.
But in these two cases, it appears the former clients preferred not to be continually linked to Castano long after their time training together.
Of course, the dispute with Holtznagel isn't the first time Castano has had a brush with a less-than-flattering headline.
In August 2022, fans spotted him trying to flog a limited-edition $2,250 shirt for sale on Facebook Marketplace - despite having received it as a gift at a launch event.
While he's hardly the first person to try to offload a freebie, the coverage was lapped up by Sydney gossips who had long waited for someone to prick Castano's bubble.
He had advertised the second-hand, size-large shirt using a Fendi website screenshot, without revealing it was gifted.
Former Bachelor Matty Johnson offered to pay '$50 for it'; however, it appears this was not a serious offer as Castano responded with a laughing emoji.
The move drew groans from PR and influencer circles, where reselling gifted items is considered a breach of unspoken industry etiquette.
Castano never commented on the sale and it's unclear if he ever found a buyer.
The first time Castano's image as a high-society big-shot came into question was in August 2022 when fans spotted him trying to flog a limited-edition $2,250 shirt for sale on Facebook Marketplace - despite having received it as a gift at a launch event
In the latest chapter of Castano's life in the spotlight, last weekend he traded barbs with Holtznagel, the mother of his nearly two-year-old daughter Gia, over their co-parenting arrangement and child support payments.
Their dispute was sparked when Holtznagel snapped following a supervised visit, revealing to her Instagram followers that Castano had only been paying $40 a week in child support until relatively recently.
Castano, 35, has strongly denied Simone's claims he was underpaying her, sharing evidence of money transfers in the thousands since December.
However, he did acknowledge that, until late last year, he had been paying his ex just $45 a week because they 'couldn't agree' on an amount for child support, adding that Holtznagel had apparently asked for an 'insane' sum he couldn't afford.
Castano and then-girlfriend Holtznagel are pictured at the Versace event on August 11, 2022
Last weekend, Castano traded barbs with Simone Holtznagel, the mother of his nearly two-year-old daughter Gia, over their co-parenting arrangement and child support payments
Holtznagel's explosive post, which she shared on her Instagram Stories on Friday, February 6, showed her dancing around her living room with their toddler in her arms - while flipping the bird.
'My purely hypothetical, calm reaction when my BD [baby daddy] rocks up 45 minutes late to his supervised visit,' she wrote over the top of the video.
Simone then took a swipe at Castano's ex-wife and business partner, Amy, and his girlfriend, Emily Ryder, before making claims about his driver's licence.
'[Arriving] in his new girlfriend's car, being driven by his current wife - because neither of them own a vehicle,' she wrote.
'This is the same "celebrity trainer" who hasn't had a consistent licence in four years and only just discovered paying more than $40 a week in child support is a thing.
'And then, has the audacity to ask if I'm pregnant because I "have a tummy". The confidence. The delusion. The absolute lack of self-awareness.'
On Saturday morning, hours after Holtznagel's post went live and was viewed thousands of times, Castano shared his own rebuttal video to Instagram.
He claimed Holtznagel's post was full of 'lies', before showing screenshots of bank transactions that showed him sending his ex almost $8,500 since December.
However, he did concede he'd been making significantly lower payments before then.
Regarding Holtznagel's claim that Castano had asked if she was pregnant because of her 'tummy', Castano explained what he'd really said was that he was 'very happy for Gia if you are pregnant'.
Castano was contacted for comment in relation to this story.
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