Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news.
Brutal robbery shocks high society
What was meant to be a sun-soaked Italian escape turned into a holiday from hell for undies entrepreneur Justin Davis-Rice and his German wife Michella Filipowitz.
The jet-setting couple were violently ambushed in one of the world’s most exclusive holiday enclaves – the Costa Smeralda in northeastern Sardinia – on July 24.
Former model Michella, 35, was the victim of a targeted robbery carried out by two brazen thieves as she and her husband took an evening stroll along the Porto Cervo promenade, an elegant waterfront shopping village.
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Undies entrepreneur Justin Davis-Rice (left) and his German wife Michella Filipowitz (right) were targeted in a violent robbery in northeastern Sardinia on the evening of July 24
The criminals snatched her Richard Mille watch – worth AU$570,000 – right off her wrist
Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, meaning ‘Emerald Coast’, draws billionaires, celebrities and yacht girls every summer. The robbery occurred at the Porto Cervo promenade (pictured)
They snatched her Richard Mille watch – worth AU$570,000 – right off her wrist.
The attackers had been shadowing Michella and Justin – the former CEO of lingerie conglomerate Naked Brand Group – as they browsed the boutiques of the famed resort town, which draws billionaires, celebrities and yacht girls every summer.
When they finally made their move, the confrontation turned violent.
Michella was thrown to the ground in the struggle, striking her head with such force, she was admitted to the neurosurgery department of Sassari’s Civil Hospital.
Sources say she suffered a serious head injury, but has since been discharged and is recovering privately.
The two suspects, whose faces were uncovered and caught on CCTV, fled the scene before authorities arrived.
The Italian military police, known as Carabinieri, launched an investigation and are scouring surveillance footage from the Porto Cervo Consortium in the hope of identifying the culprits.
While the couple has not spoken publicly about the ordeal, sources close to the Davis-Rices say the incident has left them ‘shaken but thankful to be safe’.
The incident shows that even paradise has its predators. (Pictured: a view of the harbour and village in Porto Cervo, where Michella and Justin were targeted in a robbery last Thursday)
Justin Davis-Rice is the former CEO of lingerie conglomerate Naked Brand Group, known for brands like Pleasure State and Heidi Klum Intimates. (Justin is pictured left with former David Jones fashion boss Donna Player, right, in Sydney on January 28, 2016)
As local authorities continue their hunt for the perpetrators, the shocking daylight robbery serves as a chilling warning to other well-heeled Australians flocking to Europe’s playgrounds this summer: even paradise has its predators.
It comes after I exclusively revealed Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante had his Mykonos villa ransacked last month.
Escalante and his female companions were eyeballed by thieves on their first night on the island after flashing the cash at the famous Scorpios beach club.
Entourage, Sydney-style
When you’re the bronzed businessman behind one of Australia’s most successful fake tan empires, subtlety isn’t exactly your strong suit.
And Bondi Sands co-founder Sean Wilson is going all out ahead of his five-star wedding to model and podcaster Tess Shanahan.
I’m told the groom-to-be – whose self-tanning brand is practically synonymous with Aussie summer skin – will touch down in Sydney in a matter of weeks for what insiders are calling a ‘cashed-up bogan’ bucks bash.
Bondi Sands co-founder Sean Wilson (left) is going all out for his ‘cashed-up bogan’ bucks bash ahead of his five-star wedding to model and podcaster Tess Shanahan (right)
Sources say the veneer-teethed entrepreneur and his Melbourne entourage are flying in on a PJ (that’s private jet, for us mere mortals), and they’re taking over celebrity fine-dining hotspot Mimi’s in Coogee for what’s been described as a ‘coastal degustation with Wolf of Wall Street energy.’
If that’s not cringe enough, the lads will be arriving in a stretch Hummer.
Pass the bucket.
The HQ for their antics? A lavish Vaucluse mansion with harbour views and glass walls galore — so the neighbours get a front-row seat whether they like it or not.
Still, I’m assured Sean is ‘keeping it classy’ (in his own way) with a strict no-strippers policy and a social media blackout.
The big question now: how on earth will the wedding top this?
Seven stars respond
I was sent this picture of Amy and Emily from Stranded on Honeymoon Island. The contents of the baggie were hair glitter
Stranded on Honeymoon Island may not have been a hit for Seven, but its stars clearly have a knack for making headlines.
This week, I was forwarded a picture of two of the show’s contestants, Amy and Emily, posing with a small Ziploc bag containing hair glitter while getting ready for a music festival.
Now, as a young woman who has lived a life, my mind at first cynically rushed to a certain conclusion when I was sent this photo.
But an email to the production company behind Stranded on Honeymoon Island, EndemolShine, proved me wrong.
They provided me with the following statement from Amy and Emily:
‘The contents in the bag was glitter that we used in our hair before a festival, any suggestion otherwise is categorically untrue and defamatory.’
I do not suggest otherwise.
‘We are currently seeking legal advice in relation to this matter.’
Amy and Emily, a note for the future: don’t keep your festival glitter in a little bag and take a photo with it. You’ll only attract (albeit wrongfully) suspicious minds like mine!
Big in Dubai
When Mark Latham‘s ex Nathalie Matthews came forward with explosive abuse allegations against the political firebrand – which he strongly denies – she was billed as the high-powered boss of a Dubai-based freight and logistics firm.
Very impressive.
But it soon emerged she was also a former OnlyFans model with a talent for reinvention and a jaw-gaping stage name: Bondi C** Sl**.
Side hustles aside, Matthews, 37, has long tried to present herself as a trailblazing businesswoman in the male-dominated freight game. And last August, she got the profile she seemed to be chasing – a gushing puff piece in a little-known outlet called Dubai Magazine.
Something about this ‘Dubai Magazine’ cover featuring Nathalie Matthews doesn’t feel right. Could it be the awkwardly formatted cover, featuring a low-res image pinched from Instagram?
Titled ‘The Tenacious Freight Forwarder Shaping Dubai’s Logistics Landscape’, the article paints Matthews as a visionary reshaping the UAE’s shipping industry through ‘resilience’ and ‘strategic innovation’.
There’s one problem: no one in the actual freight world seems to have heard of her – and Dubai Magazine looks suspiciously like a pay-to-publish platform with zero editorial rigour.
A quick skim reveals vague platitudes, no concrete data, and not a single mention of clients, company names or credentials.
And – surprise, surprise – the profile also skips over her stint on OnlyFans, which may well have been her most successful venture to date.
