Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip before it makes the news.
League legend in AVO drama
It’s not all smooth sailing for a familiar name from Australian sport.
Former rugby union and league player Russell Fairfax – father of OG Australian fashion influencer Nadia Fairfax-Wayne – has had an apprehended violence order taken out for his protection against one Thomas Fairfax.
Police obtained the order for the former Sydney Roosters great in March.
Thomas has since been charged with destroying or damaging property and common assault.
Nadia Fairfax-Wayne is seen with her father, former rugby union and league player Russell Fairfax. Police have taken out an AVO to protect him from Thomas Fairfax. Nadia is not involved
Nadia (right) was a Sydney ‘It girl’ during the early Instagram years in the mid-2010s and went on to marry financier Michael Wayne (left)
It does not appear to be the first time tensions between Russell and Thomas have spilled into legal territory.
Police previously secured AVOs for Russell’s protection in 2024.
Nadia, who is not involved in the AVO matter, was a Sydney ‘It girl’ during the early Instagram years in the mid-2010s and went on to marry financier Michael Wayne.
Win for Kristin’s late-night caller
Wherever Kristin Fisher goes, drama usually isn’t far behind.
Back in January, the Double Bay eyebrow technician found herself back in the headlines once again – not for a new romance, or for being caught with a bag or skipping a court appearance, but for a more serious alleged domestic drama.
An AVO sought by police to protect Fisher from a man known to her was part of proceedings this week when an aggravated break-and-enter charge against the man was dismissed by a magistrate.
The restraining order remains in place, and the matter is scheduled to return for a mention on Wednesday, June 24.
There’s been a development in the case of Kristin Fisher’s alleged late-night visitor. (Fisher is pictured left with a friend in May 2024 when she was making headlines for an unrelated matter)
The aggravated break-and-enter charge against a man known to Fisher – identified as AA due to a suppression order – has been dismissed by a magistrate. An AVO remains in place
The matter stems from an alleged late-night incident at Fisher’s eastern suburbs home last October involving the man – who hails from the Northern Beaches and is identified as AA due to a suppression order – which reportedly escalated after a spirited evening, culminating in allegations he entered her apartment ‘with intent’.
Police have remained tight-lipped about what that alleged intent may have been, and AA was released on bail after being charged.
It is understood that AA and Fisher are known to each other, and that the AVO was initially in place for her protection.
Sources close to Fisher claim the fateful evening escalated after a string of late nights following the pair meeting on a dating app.
Since the drama unfolded, neither Fisher nor the man has commented publicly.
At one of AA’s early court appearances, I saw him in the flesh.
Of all the seats he could have chosen, he ended up sitting next to the one journalist in the room – me – after I showed up specifically looking for him.
It was only when he noticed me scrolling the Daily Mail homepage on my phone that the penny dropped and he swiftly moved as far away from me as possible.
Fisher recently made headlines for sharing this photo of her younger boyfriend Shannon Sykes wearing a ‘your mom is my cardio’ T-shirt in front of the salon owner’s daughter
Meanwhile, Fisher is loved-up with a new younger boyfriend, Morgan Stanley finance bro Shannon Sykes (who, I should note, is obviously not AA).
She hard-launched the relationship last month, posting a photo on Instagram of Sykes in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘your mom is my cardio’ while Fisher’s young daughter sat nearby, flipping the bird.
Fisher later confirmed she bought the shirt herself. Classy.
Ferrari speeds off
Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante‘s gaming empire has quietly disappeared from one of the most glamorous stages in global sport.
Scuderia Ferrari has scrubbed Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW) branding from its Formula One cars, team apparel and official sponsor roster, bringing to an end a multi-year partnership with the company behind the wildly popular Chumba Casino app.
The split comes as VGW and its founder, 44, face mounting legal troubles on multiple fronts. In the United States, the company is battling a growing wave of lawsuits challenging its sweepstakes casino model.
Meanwhile, father-of-four Escalante is facing a raft of family violence and drug-related charges following his arrest after an alleged incident at the home of his 24-year-old former partner on Australia Day.
Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante (left, in a selfie; right, outside court) is going through it… In addition to his legal and regulatory woes, his company’s branding has vanished from the oldest surviving and most successful Formula One team, Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari has scrubbed Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW) branding at the 2026 Formula One season, bringing to an end a multi-year partnership with the Australian gaming giant
Police allege he assaulted the woman, stole a number of items and caused damage to the property.
The allegations intensified after police executed a search warrant at Escalante’s residence, where prosecutors told the court officers allegedly discovered more than 12.2 grams of ketamine, 18 grams of MDMA and more than 30 grams of cocaine.
‘My arrest on these matters has come as a shock to myself and my family,’ Escalante said at the time.
‘From the little I know of the allegations at this stage, I can only say that they are untrue and will be defended.’
The legal turmoil has already rippled through the gaming empire he built, with Escalante temporarily stepping aside as chief executive of VGW.
The drama threatens not only the vast fortune that earned him a place on the AFR Rich List, but also VGW’s lucrative American operations, which are facing increasing scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers.
It marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes for one of Australia’s greatest private-sector success stories. During the pandemic, VGW grew into the nation’s fifth-largest private company.
Its flagship product, Chumba Casino, remains a money-printing machine, generating a staggering $5.2billion in annual revenue.
Escalante amassed his fortune by exploiting what some critics describe as a legal loophole that allowed VGW to offer poker machine-style casino games to millions of Americans, initially through Facebook.
VGW’s sweepstakes-based ‘social casino’ model lets users play slot-style games and win prizes, using virtual currencies instead of direct cash betting – a structure that allows it to operate outside traditional gambling regulation.
The company’s meteoric rise attracted an impressive roster of investors, including Canaccord Genuity dealmaker Peter Talbot; Wallabies legend John Eales; a company linked to the family of former Howard government minister Wilson Tuckey; and Melbourne fund manager VP Capital, where former AFL star Chris Judd was an investor. Bermuda-based financier Duncan Saville was also among the shareholder ranks.
Now, with Ferrari gone, lawsuits mounting and regulators circling, the billionaire’s place on future rich lists no longer looks quite so secure.
Affair couple’s windfall
Congratulations are in order for a couple who absolutely hate my guts.
Back when I was filling the gossip pages at another masthead, I exposed the extramarital affair between Double Bay boutique owner Juliet Schiff and her best friend’s husband, Rowan Rundle.
The pair were working together at Schiff’s monogramming business, The Monogram Mode, when Rundle’s now ex-wife Gemma discovered intimate Slack exchanges between them.
It was certainly a COVID-era romance.
The sad part, though, is that Gemma had given birth to the couple’s first child just four months before her marriage imploded.
Juliet Schiff and Rowan Rundle’s COVID-era affair was the talk of Sydney’s eastern suburbs
Rundle recently offloaded his Paddington cottage (pictured) and the pair are now believed to be moving into a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home on a 400sqm block
Still, at least the affair appears to have been worth it. Schiff and Rundle tied the knot in a low-key ceremony in 2023 – and he has since enjoyed a property windfall.
Rundle recently offloaded his Paddington cottage and the pair are now believed to be moving into a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home on a 400sqm block. Property records show Rundle purchased the residence in August last year for $5.1 million.
I dropped past their Glenmore Road home on Thursday to congratulate the couple in person. Sadly nobody was home.
Schiff, a mother of two, was previously married to Texan financier Denham Schiff, who reportedly only learned of the wedding from friends days before it took place.
He has largely kept a low profile since the breakdown of the marriage, aside from a brief romance with eastern suburbs socialite Jessica Bowditch last year, following her headline-making split from Barrenjoey banker Dyson Bowditch.
As for Rundle’s former wife, she appears to have landed on her feet.
Gemma is now expecting her second child with financier Jack McCole, a Melbourne native who has long called Sydney’s east home.
Sometimes everyone gets their happy ending.
Read the full article here
