Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip before it makes the news.
Stefanie Catalano flees
On the surface, they appeared to have it all – a happy blended family, jet-setting lifestyle, considerable wealth, and even the Hemsworths as close friends.
But it was no secret that glamour couple Antony Catalano, 59, and his third wife, Stefanie, 40, had a famously volatile marriage.
The former Domain boss and Byron Bay hotelier’s life imploded last month after he allegedly returned to their luxury Melbourne penthouse from a 40th birthday dinner, high on drugs, and launched a sustained attack on his wife.
It is alleged, in a police statement, he told Stefanie: ‘If you scream one more time I’ll stab you to death.’
It was no secret that glamour couple Antony Catalano and his third wife, Stefanie, had a famously volatile marriage. (The couple is pictured together)
Part of the incident was reportedly captured on CCTV, with the altercation spilling from the apartment into the hallway near the lifts.
Stefanie allegedly suffered a fractured coccyx and spent several hours in hospital following the ordeal.
Catalano later said he was ‘deeply ashamed and humiliated’ after his arrest, adding that family and friends had previously urged him to seek help for his substance abuse issues.
He stepped down as executive chairman of Australian Community Media (ACM) within 24 hours of allegations emerging – charged with assault, false imprisonment, and making threats to kill.
He is now undergoing rehabilitation at the Delmont Clinic in suburban Melbourne and is due to face court next month.
Meanwhile, Stefanie is understood to have briefly returned to their Byron Bay home before fleeing overseas to escape the media spotlight.
A source told the Group Chat she took their school-age children to Canada for four weeks.
A source told the Group Chat that Stefanie took their school-age children to Canada for four weeks after the alleged assault
The snow-bound escape was hardly a surprise – the couple are keen skiers and own a luxury penthouse at Mount Buller, a popular Victorian ski destination.
The father-of-nine, who has been married to Stefanie for 14 years, was twice married before.
It was during his second marriage, to wife Shara, that he is understood to have met Stefanie, who was just 20 at the time. Despite rumours she had been nanny to his five children, the pair in fact met at The Pantry cafe in Brighton.
When their relationship began, Stefanie is understood to have been working as his receptionist. It is not suggested Catalano cheated on his second wife – only that he first encountered Stefanie while still married.
The week before Catalano’s recent arrest, according to a well-placed insider, he was seen ‘hobnobbing’ trackside at the Formula One Grand Prix with a female companion.
This woman reportedly visited Melbourne because of her interest in the McLaren team and subsequently got to know Catalano.
The two are understood to have had dinner at France-Soir, a well-heeled South Yarra institution Catalano was known to frequent with his wife. Days later, events took an allegedly dramatic turn.
The Mail does not suggest that Catalano’s dinner with the woman, or time spent at the Grand Prix, was anything other than innocent, nor that it was connected to subsequent events.
Catalano is expected to face court next month, with proceedings ongoing.
Billionaire’s confidant faces court
As the saying goes, it’s easy to spot a wolf in sheep’s clothing – but in Sydney’s tight-knit high society, it’s often the outsider trying a little too hard to fit in who goes unnoticed. At least, until everything unravels.
In a jaw-dropping investigation, Sydney Morning Herald reporter Kate McClymont has peeled back the curtain on the alleged double life of Annalouise Spence – once a trusted confidante to billionaire philanthropist Judith Neilson.
For eight years, Spence was granted extraordinary access to Neilson’s personal and financial affairs. But NSW Police now allege that trust was exploited to fund a lavish lifestyle – to the tune of roughly $1.5million.
Annalouise Spence (left) with her employer Judith Neilson in Cuba in 2018
Annalouise and her husband Adam Spence at the luxury Capella Sydney
According to police, Spence impersonated her boss and forged approvals to bankroll first-class flights, luxury hotels, designer wardrobes, jewellery and art. She allegedly siphoned off nearly one million Qantas frequent flyer points – booking flights for Neilson, cancelling them, and keeping the credits.
The spending breakdown is eye-watering: close to $400,000 on travel, $335,000 on fashion, and $184,000 on jewellery, all allegedly charged to her employer. Neilson, meanwhile, is well known for using her fortune to help disadvantaged and marginalised communities in Australia and Africa.
Spence is also accused of applying for a black American Express card in Neilson’s name without approval.
That card is alleged to have funded a $45,000 first-class trip to Seattle via Los Angeles, where Spence bought a $16,000 artwork for a male friend – who later repaid the amount, allegedly into Spence’s own account. The pair then stayed at New York’s famed Carlyle Hotel, racking up nearly $39,000 for five nights.
Back in Sydney, Spence and her husband reportedly lived rent-free in a property owned by Neilson despite owning a three-bedroom unit in Erskineville.
The alleged scheme only began to surface after a shake-up in Neilson’s office. Within days of starting, a new executive assistant reportedly flagged a suspicious $58,000 charge for a rose gold Rolex.
What followed was a detailed audit of Neilson’s finances and the engagement of crisis manager Marnie Edwards – a former detective inspector with NSW Police – who allegedly found further discrepancies.
On Thursday, Spence was arrested at her home and taken to Mascot Police Station, where she was later charged with 68 counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
And yet, despite the scale of the allegations, Sydney’s well-connected circles appear to know little about her. Calls to society insiders have so far drawn blanks.
‘I’ve never seen her and I’ve never heard of her,’ one high-profile socialite said.
‘I’m surprised Judith allowed an outsider – with zero social ties to those insular, extremely wealthy circles – to be entrusted with her personal finances,’ another added.
There’s no denying Spence – who describes herself as a ‘wife, daughter, big sister, best friend and mother to a fur baby’ with an obsession for ‘fashion, travel, home decor, magnificent gardens and bright shiny things’ – is accustomed to the finer things in life.
A Pinterest account in her name features mood boards spanning home renovations, 50th birthday ideas and a folder dubbed ‘bright and shiny’, filled with more than 120 pins of diamond jewellery.
Quaid’s secret Aussie tabloid connection
Hollywood royalty mingled with Aussie media figures last weekend as actor Jack Quaid wed Australian actress Claudia Doumit in a tightly guarded countryside ceremony – where her family’s tabloid pedigree quietly came to light.
The groom is, of course, the son of ’90s rom-com icon Meg Ryan and actor Dennis Quaid, both of whom were front and centre as their son said ‘I do’ in NSW’s picturesque Mona Farm last Saturday.
But it was the bride’s own family connections in publishing and entertainment circles that had media insiders buzzing.
Hollywood royalty mingled with Aussie media figures last weekend as actor Jack Quaid wed Australian actress Claudia Doumit in a tightly guarded countryside ceremony
Claudia is the daughter of former Woman’s Day beauty editor Mary Zavaglia (pictured)
Claudia Doumit (left) pictured with her mum Mary Zavaglia, who was beauty editor of Woman’s Day in Australia’s tabloid heyday
Claudia is the daughter of former Woman’s Day beauty editor Mary Zavaglia, a familiar name from Australia’s tabloid heyday, who later swapped Park Street for Los Angeles to support her daughter’s acting ambitions.
‘She was always really approachable around the office and hugely popular – very bubbly, and still close with the old guard of magazine people,’ one former colleague recalled.
After relocating to LA about a decade ago, Zavaglia settled comfortably into the Australian expat social scene, often seen in the Beverly Hills orbit of entertainment consultant Amanda Archer.
Before her magazine days, she also ran the well-regarded salon Bizarre Hair Management with her now ex-husband Morrie Doumit.
As for the newlyweds, who met on the set of The Boys, they opted for an ultra-private celebration in the rural NSW town of Braidwood in the Southern Tablelands.
In true Hollywood-meets-country style, staff at the exclusive property were reportedly made to sign strict non-disclosure agreements, ensuring the wedding details stayed firmly under wraps.
Elle breaks her silence
Sydney TikTok ‘star’ Elle Salagaras – formerly @Elle_EasternSuburbsMum, now @thats_so_elle – has broken her silence after a bitter legal saga with her former friend Cindy Killian spectacularly collapsed.
The young housewife and mother-of-three, known for her glamorous lifestyle, has declared herself ‘vindicated’ after Killian abruptly withdrew an AVO application that had threatened to drag their bitter fallout through the courts.
As revealed in the Group Chat last week, the proceedings were sensationally abandoned following a stern warning from Magistrate Stafford that Killian, a fellow social media personality, could be on the hook for her former bestie’s legal bills – a prospect that saw her swiftly withdraw the application.
Elle Salagaras (pictured) said she felt ‘vindicated’ after former friend Cindy Killian abruptly withdrew an AVO application that had threatened to drag their bitter fallout through the courts
The former friends (pictured together) have been locked in a bitter feud
Fresh from her breast augmentation surgery and debuting a new, larger cup size, Salagaras has now gone on record to confirm what many saw coming.
‘I can finally confirm that Cindy Killian 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 were false and without merit. The withdrawal of the application is a clear vindication of my position.’
Killian had asked the court for an order that Salagaras must not assault or threaten her; stalk, harass or intimidate her; or destroy her property or harm any animal belonging to her.
To be clear, this column does not suggest Salagaras has done any of these things.
When earlier contacted, Kilian said, ‘It’s something between me and her… It’s a very strict and very classified police matter,’ but declined to elaborate.
In response, a spokesperson for Salagaras told The Group Chat: ‘Killian well knows that this is not a police matter – they have no involvement whatsoever.’
Behind the scenes, the drama continues.
Lawyers acting for the vlogger, who is married to wealthy fund manager Lucas Salagaras, revealed their client is still weighing up whether to pursue a costs order against her one-time friend – a move that could prove financially painful for the Canadian real estate agent based in Sydney.
While tight-lipped on the exact figure, I’m told Killian may need to part with ‘more than one of her designer handbags’ if ordered to pay up.
