When Bridgett Roccisano, the Melbourne fashion queen and co-founder of Booby Tape, announced her separation last week, veneers hit the floor in Toorak.
She welcomed a baby girl in late April – but before the ink had even dried on the birth certificate, her two-year marriage to husband Joshua Cavallaro was over.
To say it came as a shock would be an understatement.
Bridgett, whose breast tape brand is stocked in more than 40 countries worldwide, told her followers she was ‘devastated and disappointed’ that her journey hadn’t ‘unfolded the way I envisioned’.
It was a truly sad end for a couple who had seemed – on their wedding day, at least – to be blissfully happy.
Then… I took a look at Joshua’s social media.
Bridgett Roccisano and Joshua Cavallaro had looked blissfully happy on their wedding day in April 2023, which was photographed by the Daily Mail. The Booby Tape co-founder announced last week they had separated
Amanda groaned when she looked up Bridgett’s estranged husband on Instagram and discovered golf, golf and more golf
Suddenly, this story became very interesting indeed.
Yes, there were posts of Joshua looking every inch the proud father – but a common theme kept recurring that had me nervously scratching at my neck.
Golf. Golf. Golf. And more golf.
Don’t get me wrong – I have no problem with golf, or the men who play it. But I got the sense during my snoop that the golfing green was this man’s one true love.
Eighteen holes eight weeks ago. Then there were a few rounds three weeks ago. Oh, and another trip to the green with mates a week later, complete with beers and cigars.
And those are just the golf trips he’s posted online!
Where was Bridgett? I can’t possibly say for sure, but I’ll hazard a guess: grappling with breast pumps and changing dirty nappies.
Could this be why his marriage is now in the rough? Again, I’m not claiming to have any insider knowledge here, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
Bridgett (pictured with her daughter Elle) told her social media followers she was ‘devastated and disappointed’ that her journey hadn’t ‘unfolded the way I envisioned’
When Princess Diana spoke about her split from Prince Charles, she famously said: ‘There were three of us in our marriage’.
She was, of course, referring to her husband’s lover Camilla Parker Bowles. You might say something similar for Bridgett and Joshua – only in this instance, the third party is a nine-iron.
Look, I don’t know the ins and outs of why they split, but it seems to me, going by Joshua’s online presence, that his priorities look a bit confused.
My experience of new dads, generally speaking, is that once they’ve done the ‘mum and bub doing fine’ post (bless them), they go dark on social media for about 12 months. Boys’ nights are a rarity. Sleep is a privilege. Days off are few and far between. Or at least that’s how it should be.
This latest split has got me thinking more generally on the subject of some fathers – emphasis on ‘some’ – who treat the first year of fatherhood like it’s a breezy gap year.
While exhausted, bleeding and physically drained women are dealing with sleepless nights, cracked nipples, rollercoaster hormones and a body they no longer recognise, some men just… cruise along.
Not all men, of course. There are excellent fathers out there who do more than their fair share, but I can think of a fair few who are back at Acero gym within a week (if they even missed a workout), booking golf trips, posting chummy selfies with the boys while the mother of their child is on two hours of broken sleep and wearing maternity pads the size of a king mattress.
One husband I know well booked a health retreat for himself in Thailand when his baby was a few months old, because he was – and I quote – ‘exhausted and burnt out’ and needed a break to ‘recharge’. His wife, obviously, stayed home.
A month after his daughter was born, Joshua was back on the green
A trip two weeks ago was complete with beers and cigars
On Thursday, Joshua posted this update before jetting off somewhere
It kind of reminds me of ‘celebrity’ trainer Jono Castano, who split from his model girlfriend Simone Holtznagel just nine weeks after the birth of their daughter Gia last year.
Nine weeks, folks. Almost as short as Jono himself.
The reason for their break-up? I’ve been told it was due to their ‘incompatible’ lifestyles, with Jono, 33, jetting off on a solo trip shortly after Gia was born.
And while Simone is left holding the baby, Jono was recently pictured out on the town with reality star Emily Ryder.
I’m so, so pleased he’s found his happy ending.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting Jono and Joshua are bad fathers. I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, and I’m well aware social media is a curated highlight reel that doesn’t often feature screaming babies.
Both men have proudly posted their daughters online and I have no doubt they love them deeply.
‘Celebrity’ trainer Jono Castano split from his model girlfriend Simone Holtznagel just nine weeks after the birth of their daughter Gia last year
This isn’t about whether they’re good dads.
It’s about the glaringly obvious imbalance we see time and time again in those early parenting years.
For many new mothers, the feeling that they are doing it alone weighs on them like an open secret.
Some are too embarrassed to admit it, out of fear they are being nags, or because their friends in supportive marriages can’t relate.
Right now, my thoughts are with Bridgett. By all accounts, she’s a remarkable woman.
She went from barely scraping by to being the ultimate boss. Now, she faces a personal challenge she never saw coming.
Nothing I can say can make this easier. But if it’s any consolation, so many of us are quietly rooting for you. You’ve got this.
