Charity Gala’s True Earnings Revealed: Stars Paid to Attend & Pip Edwards’ Ex with Younger Model

Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news.

Hemmes plays matchmaker

Sydney’s social set has a new ‘It’ couple – and yes, it’s as tangled as ever.

Model Simone Holtznagel has barely dusted off her blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fling with property developer Max Shepherd – and she’s already off the market again.

Word is, she’s now dating Joshua Clapp – the creative force behind Steel and Stitch, the interior design firm behind some of Sydney’s slickest hospitality haunts.

Their love story has a very Merivale twist: Simone’s sister Madeleine Holtznagel and her partner Justin Hemmes played matchmaker at the launch of late-night venue The Press last month.

The match clearly stuck – the pair, both single parents, were spotted looking hot and heavy in full view of fellow partygoers.

Since then, Simone has made a brief appearance on Clapp’s Instagram – all the proof you need that things are serious.

Joshua – known for his easy charm and a reputation that precedes him in Sydney’s eastern suburbs – was once linked to Pip Edwards, after impressively recalling her phone number from memory years after they’d first met. Smooth operator, indeed.

But insiders insist this time it’s different.

‘Maddie and Justin introduced them knowing that they’d hit it off,’ a close friend tells me.

‘Simone’s in such a better place since things with Jono ended.’

That’s her ex, ‘celebrity’ personal trainer Jono Castano. The pair split on Easter Sunday last year, just nine weeks after welcoming daughter Gia.

Jono has since moved on with Emily Ryder, star of Stan’s dating series Love Triangle.

As for Simone, she’s thriving – co-parenting challenges and all. And with Joshua’s design empire booming, expect this power couple to be front and centre at Sydney’s hottest events all summer long.

Meanwhile, the never-without-a-boyfriend Pip set tongues wagging last month after being spotted arm-in-arm with bar owner and Scots College old boy Dylan Hales in New York City.

She definitely has a type…

Sequins over substance?

On the surface, the JW Foundation’s Starry Night gala – a black-tie spectacle held last month at the National Gallery of Victoria – sparkled as Melbourne’s ultimate charity bash.

Celebrities swanned in like it was the Met Gala, influencers posed in borrowed couture, and waiters served up celebrity-chef menus with flair.

But scratch beneath the sequins and things got a little confusing.

After the event, I scoured the JW Foundation’s socials and couldn’t find a single post confirming how much had been raised for beneficiaries ToyBox Australia, a charity for sick children, and Duchenne Australia, which supports families living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

In theory, the total should have hit seven figures. Individual, non-refundable tickets ranged from $1,850 to $2,850, with corporate packages fetching between $9,250 and $18,500.

With 400 guests attending, the bash ought to have netted between $740,000 and $1.1million – and that’s before factoring in corporate sponsors like Vogue, Mercedes, Ritz-Carlton and Penfolds, plus live auctions reportedly worth over $1.4million and those ever-generous ‘additional donations’.

So, how much was pledged from the event? $187,992. And it took more than a few phone calls and emails to get that figure.

I can confirm that, as of publication, $143,922 of that has hit the ToyBox account, which will ultimately fill specific grants supporting Duchenne families.

The JW Foundation is ‘working hard to collect the remainder pledged’ and its founder has ‘guaranteed personally that the balance will be collected’, Sophia Barbagallo of Toybox Australia told The Group Chat via email this week.

‘We look forward to working with them in the future to ensure the event’s success, longevity and to significantly grow the charitable contribution.’

Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure $188k will make a difference. But given the size and scale of the Starry Night gala, I was surprised by how low the figure was.

For context: last month’s Ronald McDonald House Gala – yes, the one where a Sachs family socialite berated guests for not bidding generously enough – raised $1.84million.

The last Seven Telethon, held annually in WA, raised an eye-watering $83,264,216.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting the JW Foundation has done anything wrong – pulling together an event of this scale isn’t cheap – but the feeling among Melbourne society insiders is that Starry Night was more showpiece than substance.

The guest list read like a Who’s Who of influencer royalty and yesterday’s WAGs.

Nadia Bartel, Bec Judd, Effie Kats, Lindy Klim, Jessie Murphy and Zana Pali  swanned around in designer dresses in the name of charity – entertained by live performers and violin solos, and later bidding on limited-edition art.

Based on ticket prices alone, Starry Night promised a goldmine. But as stated in the fine print on the fundraiser’s website: ‘A portion of funds from ticket sales will be allocated to cover essential external costs’ – including hiring the National Gallery of Victoria and paying entertainers and event staff.

Remaining ticket revenue not used for event costs – along with all auction sales and donations from the night – went directly to the registered charity, ToyBox.

That all sounds fairly standard – but perhaps in future years, the JW Foundation might consider trimming the overheads? Especially given that it was confirmed to me, off the record, that three influencers were paid to attend.

(To be clear: I do not suggest that any guests mentioned or pictured in this article were among the paid influencers. I’ve also established that none of the charitable funds raised on the night were used to cover event or marketing expenses.)

Pulling the strings behind the Starry Night gala’s glitter curtain is Melbourne property developer Jonathan Webber.

He’s been called the ‘visionary’ of the JW Foundation, busily ‘redefining philanthropy’ and ‘curating exclusive experiences that elevate fundraising’.

His heart seems to be in the right place – but perhaps next time, if an influencer asks for a fee to attend a charity event, a polite ‘no, thank you’ might suffice.

Cat-astrophe averted

Dalley Avenue, in well-heeled Vaucluse, normally the picture of tranquillity, was abuzz with concern last week after celebrity chef Neil Perry and wife Samantha revealed their beloved cat, Pepper, had gone missing.

Neighbours discovered flyers in their letterboxes, each featuring a photo of the fluffy feline and a plea to help bring home the adored family pet.

With Pepper missing for several days, worry spread quickly through the exclusive enclave. 

Locals banded together, searching gardens, garages and backyards in the hope of coaxing the moggy home.

And in a happy twist, Pepper has now been found safe and sound.

‘We have found her which is a massive relief! Our cleaner accidentally left the door to the garage open and she somehow found a way through to under the house and got stuck there,’ Mrs Perry revealed.

‘She was there for six days before we found her!’

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