Alan Jones’ Mysterious Protégé: Vanished and Now Dating an Heiress

Just a few short years ago, Jake Thrupp was a rising star in Sydney’s eastern elite.

As the enigmatic protégé of veteran broadcaster Alan Jones, the young producer was an endless source of gossip for society scribes, whose innuendo-laden dispatches always noted how he was ‘by Jones’ side constantly‘.

Their friendship began when Jones, a longtime friend of the Thrupp family, took Jake under his wing when he moved from the Gold Coast to attend Sydney University. The radio king would keep him on the payroll even after his departure from the airwaves.

There was always whispers, with one rumour suggesting he lived with Jones before moving out when he bought his own two-bedroom art deco apartment in Double Bay.

Even despite having a patron who was one of the most powerful men in Australian media, Jake’s ascent to the echelons of high society was extraordinary. How many conservative uni students go from lecture halls to interviewing the likes of Josh Frydenberg on their own podcast, and publishing their own anthology of right-wing musings featuring essays from the likes of Gina Rinehart and Tony Abbott?

Then, almost as rapidly as his rise, he vanished. And the question of ‘where’s Jake?’ has been whispered among Sydney’s social and political elites ever since.

As the enigmatic protégé of veteran broadcaster Alan Jones (right), young producer Jake Thrupp (left) was an endless source of gossip for society scribes for years

Jake left Sydney (‘a cut-throat town’ where jealousy is ‘rampant’) and moved to London, joined by his Australian girlfriend Tiffany Bowen Hughes (right)

He ended up moving about as far away from the eastern suburbs as you could get – to a country that holds a special place in his former mentor’s heart. 

Jake left Sydney (‘a cut-throat town’ where jealousy is ‘rampant’) and moved to England – where Jones, a former teacher and Wallabies coach, had lived in the early 1970s and where he once had a brush with the law in 1988.

After making his name in the conservative Australian commentariat, he is now at the coalface of British politics as a parliamentary researcher and speechwriter.

And of particular interest to those who have followed his career, he now has a beautiful woman on his arm – a fellow Aussie expat and heiress to a fashion fortune.

We tracked down 28-year-old Jake this week for a long-overdue catch-up. Having put the rumours of the past behind him, he was keen to focus on his new life as a young mover-and-shaker in Whitehall.

‘London is truly an international city, so there is always something on – something to see, something to visit,’ he says.

‘I’ve been here for two years and have met great people, some who will be friends for life – so what’s not to love? Apart from the grim winter months, of course. It’s always a struggle for a surfer.’

While Jake’s move to Britain might be viewed by those with a jaundiced eye as well-timed given that Jones was charged last year with multiple sex offences (he has pleaded not guilty), he maintains it was always a ‘long-harboured ambition to study in the UK’.

Jake likes to live la dolce vita in Europe when he’s not navigating the halls of power in Whitehall

Jake and Tiffany are regulars at the Koala Gala in Mayfair. The annual fundraiser for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy is the place for Australian expats to see and be seen

‘Simply because you can access some of the best thinkers in the world,’ he adds.

‘And War Studies at King’s College London gave me that. It sounds corny but being on the doorstep of Europe has been great in learning so much about people from all round the world.’

Jake, who has just been accepted into Cambridge for further studies, maintains his primary goal in life has been to ‘make a difference’.

For years that meant working in the media and broadcasting stories and opinions that amplified his political beliefs. These days, his goal is grander: he wants to stop World War III.

‘What has changed for me [recently] is a focus on the growing threats we face in this hostile world and how to avoid war. That requires understanding the problems, constructing a narrative, and finding solutions,’ he says.

His shift from Australia’s more parochial conservative scene to Britain’s halls of power may seem dramatic, but for Jake it’s the realisation of childhood ambitions.

The pair first met in Sydney a few years back and ‘hit it off’. After reuniting several times through mutual friends, they became a couple and, in Jake’s words, ‘the rest is history’

‘Working in the UK Parliament is truly special,’ he says.

‘It is nerdy to admit but I am a British politics fanatic, and have devoured plenty of biographies and memoirs on the subject over time.

‘So to walk the corridors and see Winston Churchill‘s grandson, or former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, or meeting David Cameron, are all pinch-me moments. The most amazing experience so far was being around Downing Street last year and meeting then-PM Rishi Sunak.’

While he certainly seems to be going places even without the patronage of a man like Jones, perhaps the most eyebrow-raising development in Jake’s life is his girlfriend.

He is dating Tiffany Bowen Hughes, the daughter of Linda Bowen, the founder of the Dotti chain of fashion stores. A graduate of the exclusive Kambala School in Rose Bay, she now works in the city for a fashion designer.

The pair first met in Sydney a few years back and ‘hit it off’. After reuniting several times through mutual friends, they became a couple and, in Jake’s words, ‘the rest is history’.

Things became so serious that Tiffany followed Jake to England when he was admitted to King’s College London.

Society sources tell us she ‘isn’t political’ like her boyfriend but they are otherwise ‘joint at the hip’, and often escape the capital together to visit Wales, where her grandfather comes from.

Tiffany followed Jake to England when he was admitted to King’s College London

Tiff is the daughter of Linda Bowen, the founder of the Dotti chain of fashion stores. A graduate of the exclusive Kambala School in Rose Bay, she now works in the city for a fashion designer

Society sources tell us Tiffany ‘isn’t political’ like her boyfriend (pictured here in London) but they are otherwise ‘joint at the hip’

With very different jobs, we asked Jake – whose last rumoured relationship was with paralegal Britt Dietrich, how their worlds combine.

He says their differences only bring them closer. ‘Therein lies the attraction!’ he laughs. ‘I love creatives – they think differently and are exciting to be around. 

‘Fashion is in Tiffany’s blood. She is now pursuing that here [in England] and is going from strength to strength.’

Now firmly ensconced within London’s elite young social set, Jake and Tiffany are regulars at the Koala Gala in Mayfair. The annual fundraiser for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy is the place for Australian expats to see and be seen, and was recently featured in a double-page spread in society bible Tatler.

As for Jake’s favourite experience during his London adventure with Tiffany, he says it has to be the day after he submitted his thesis and they flew to Vienna to watch Coldplay in concert.

When we asked if there were wedding bells, or even children, in their future, Jake didn’t hesitate: ‘One hundred per cent – we talk about it.’

He doesn’t know when, or if, he will ever return to Australia.

But given how well things are going for Jake and the idle gossip he left behind in Sydney, we wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in England for good.