1 day ago
5
Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia's most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news
Raising eyebrows
Professional eyebrow plucker Kristin Fisher appears to have hard-launched her latest squeeze on social media.
The timing could hardly be more intriguing, coming the same day an apprehended violence order taken out for her protection was mentioned at Downing Centre Local Court.
According to well-placed sources, the 40-year-old owner of her eponymous Bay Street beauty clinic is being wooed by Morgan Stanley finance bro Shannon Sykes.
The headline-grabbing socialite is said to have been introduced to the Gold Coast native, who now lives in Bondi, through mutual friends, despite him being a decade her junior.
Never far from a headline, Double Bay eyebrow technician Kristin Fisher (left) is said to be dating younger finance bro Shannon Sykes (right)
It follows a turbulent period for Fisher, whose roller-coaster life took another turn last October when an unidentified man was charged after allegedly breaking into her Double Bay home
The pair spent the weekend mingling with Melbourne-turned-Sydney society duo Nick and Camilla Speer, before soaking up the sun at Tamarama Beach, conveniently close to Sykes' rental.
The new romance follows a turbulent period for Fisher, whose roller-coaster life took another turn last October when a mystery man from the Northern Beaches - known only as 'AA' after his identity was suppressed by court order - was charged after allegedly breaking into her Double Bay home.
Police claim he knew she was inside at the time.
The man - who is not Sykes - was subsequently charged with aggravated break and enter with intent, knowing a person was present, and an AVO was put in place for Fisher's protection.
AA was granted bail and is due to face court again next month. You can read all about my brief encounter with him in January at Downing Centre Local Court here.
Everything must go
Just as I predicted, Cindy Kilian may soon have to part with more than one of her designer handbags if she's ever to pay off a pesky legal bill.
The Canadian-born influencer recently abandoned a private AVO application against her former best friend, TikTok pocket rocket Elle Salagaras, at the eleventh hour.
Socialite Cindy Kilian (left) recently abandoned a private AVO application against her former best friend, TikTok pocket rocket Elle Salagaras (right), at the eleventh hour
The late withdrawal not only wasted valuable court time, but also left a rather eye-watering legal bill in its wake.
Lawyers acting for Salagaras, an eastern suburbs mother of three, revealed their client is still considering whether to pursue a costs order against Kilian, a move that could prove financially painful for the Sydney-based real estate girlie.
Perhaps anticipating exactly that, Kilian has launched an Instagram account dedicated to selling off her designer wares, including a battered pair of quilted Chanel sandals and a selection of fast-fashion gowns.
While no figure has been disclosed, one well-placed source joked that she would need to offload more than a few scuffed designer sandals to cover her former friend's legal fees.
Fresh from breast augmentation surgery, the newly vindicated Salagaras has now gone on the record to confirm what many suspected was inevitable.
Kilian is selling off her designer wares, including a battered pair of quilted Chanel sandals and a selection of fast-fashion gowns, possibly to help pay off her legal bills
'I can finally confirm that Cindy Kilian has withdrawn her AVO application brought against me and all interim orders have been revoked,' she said.
'I have consistently denied there was any basis for this AVO, and Cindy's allegations, which I considered false and without merit. The withdrawal of the application is a clear vindication of my position.'
Kilian had sought orders preventing Salagaras from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating her, as well as from damaging her property or harming any animal belonging to her.
This column does not suggest Salagaras has done any of these things.
When previously contacted about the matter, Kilian remained tight-lipped, saying only: 'It's something between me and her… It's a very strict and very classified police matter.' (It was not a police matter, but a private AVO application.)
All the lovers
Remember Joshua Sasse? The moustachioed British thespian whose (allegedly) wandering eye famously broke Kylie Minogue's heart?
No? Me neither.
Well, it turns out the strapping Pom is something of a local identity in his adopted hometown of Byron Bay - where the Mail caught him up to his old tricks last year.
A quick recap for those playing catch-up: after Kylie kicked him to the kerb, Sasse wed Aussie girl Louisa Ainsworth. The couple went on to welcome two children and settled into a converted warehouse in the NSW coastal hotspot.
But after seven years of marriage, it seems Sasse got the itch - again. We photographed him getting cosy with a local mother of two, whose identity privacy laws prevented us from revealing at the time.
Now there's a happy ending - of sorts - to the saga: Sasse and the woman he had an affair with are shacked up, according to a well-placed source.
And in March, the lucky lady made a permanent declaration of love by debuting a 'Joshua' tattoo on her arm.
She showed off the new ink on her Facebook, alongside a vaguely worded caption that offered no clue as to how their relationship might have begun.
Coincidentally, sources close to Ainsworth told The Group Chat that Sasse had always wanted her to get a tattoo of his name during their marriage, but she knew better than to say yes. Wise move.
Joshua Sasse and Kylie Minogue were famously engaged from February 2016 to February 2017
Sasse later married an Aussie and settled in Byron Bay. However, in July 2025, we pictured him canoodling in a park with another woman. Almost a year on, I'm told they are now shacked up
Sasse's new squeeze now has his name tattooed on her arm. Fingers crossed it works out!
Back in July 2025, Sasse issued a rushed Instagram statement announcing his separation from Ainsworth, shortly after the Daily Mail made enquiries with his management.
We had informed his representatives that we had photos of him canoodling with another woman at North Belongil Beach Park Reserve.
Sasse made no acknowledgement of our images, instead claiming he and Ainsworth had decided to part ways 'after thoughtful consideration and with mutual respect'.
That 'thoughtful consideration' must have unfolded at remarkable speed, given we contacted his British manager the previous evening and his Australian publicist early the next morning, seeking comment on the snaps of Sasse looking decidedly comfortable with a woman who was not his wife.
For those with long memories, it's not Sasse's first brush with a complicated love life.
He first made headlines at just 27 when he swept Kylie Minogue off her feet after they met on the set of Galavant. Their whirlwind romance culminated in a proposal six months later, setting tongues wagging around the world.
The fairytale was short-lived. In early 2017, they abruptly called off their engagement amid reports Sasse had grown close to his No Tomorrow co-star Marta Milans.
Minogue later spoke candidly about the heartbreak, revealing in a 2018 interview with 60 Minutes that the split left her feeling 'a bit broken', and that she had, for a time, 'lost' herself.
Hospo kings fear who's next
Melbourne's moneyed set are sleeping a little less soundly this week, with South Yarra's ritzy dining and nightlife precinct in the sights of alleged firebugs.
Beloved French institution France-Soir was the latest target, with two alleged would-be arsonists nabbed outside the Toorak Road stalwart on April 23 after police reportedly discovered a vehicle stocked with jerry cans nearby. A 31-year-old Sandringham man and a 22-year-old Mooroolbark woman have since been charged.
One can only hope France-Soir regular, Sky News Australia motormouth and enemy of lefties everywhere Rita Panahi, wasn't midway through her steak frites when the chaos unfolded.
Across town, after-dark influencer haunt Bar Bambi in AC/DC Lane - owned by nightclub impresario Nick Russian, husband of fashion identity Rozalia Russian - was set alight on April 25.
Three teenage boys have been charged and will face the Children's Court.
Influencer haunt Bar Bambi in AC/DC Lane - owned by nightclub impresario Nick Russian (right), husband of fashion identity Rozalia Russian (left) - was set alight on April 25
Three teenage boys have been charged and will face the Children's Court. (Above: Bar Bambi)
South Yarra institution The Emerson (pictured) and South Melbourne gentlemen's club Kittens were also both given an unwelcome late-night visit
Just days earlier, South Yarra institution The Emerson and South Melbourne gentlemen's club Kittens were both given an unwelcome late-night visit, while The Albion Rooftop managed to attract three separate blazes in a single evening.
For months now, nightclub kings and seasoned detectives have all been asking the same question: why? The sleep‑stealing randomness of it all has no doubt led to heightened security amid rising fears over who might be next.
The strangest part is that none of the venue owners have reported being shaken down for cash - the traditional calling card of an underworld demand.
Police say this latest crop of accused firebugs are hardly criminal masterminds, with organised crime figures apparently outsourcing their dirty work to teenagers.
It seems even the underworld is cutting costs these days.
Thankfully, a handful of notable venues have managed to avoid being targeted - among them Toorak Cellars, the wine bar made infamous after AFL great Wayne Carey was filmed emerging sheepishly from the bathrooms shortly after executive Kate Aston.
English (US) ·