In my career as a reporter, I’ve chased down shady Scientologists in Clearwater, chronicled the gangland wars of Sydney and was even once dragged to court by Bruce Lehrmann because I hurt his feelings.
But few stories excited me quite like the tip-off I received earlier this month that Tammy Hembrow – influencer extraordinaire and latest love interest of Geelong star Bailey Smith – was locked in a neighbourhood feud.
Residents on the Gold Coast street where Tammy lives were allegedly rattled that she wasn’t maintaining her front yard to the neighbourhood’s exacting standards.
In the comments section of one of Tammy’s recent posts, there were pearl-clutching stories of weeds in gutters (’embarrassing our street!’) and a $2.88million house that ‘always looks dirty’ (‘she does not care for it!’)
These anonymous complaints – which hinted at the sort of local knowledge you wouldn’t expect from a random troll – were so brilliantly petty that I decided to fly out to Queensland to scope out Tammy’s blue-ribbon street on Broadbeach Waters.
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Few stories excited me quite like the tip-off I received that Tammy Hembrow – influencer extraordinaire and latest love interest of Bailey Smith – was locked in a neighbourhood feud
She purchased her $2.88million home in Broadbeach Waters in 2020
Who knows? We could have the millionaires’ row feud of the century on our hands.
I cleared my slate of other investigations and flew out to the Gold Coast – clearly in such a rush that I didn’t check the BOM first and got caught up in a downpour.
When I arrived on Tammy’s street – where she bought her waterfront home in 2020 – it was bucketing with rain and I’d forgotten my umbrella.
Optimistically, I reasoned the miserable conditions were perfect to test allegations that Tammy’s gutters were habitually clogged.
But I was in for disappointment. As our photos show, Tammy’s home is in pretty good nick, with barely a blade of grass out of place. If the snarky comments were indeed from neighbours, they seem extraordinarily hard to please.
Sure, there were some leaves on the roof – but she can be forgiven for that given a rain bomb had just dumped a 40mm deluge on the region.
Her home was by no means flawless, however, and I could see why certain curtain-twitching busybodies might find flaws.
There was a pile of shoes and rubbish by the door, including a large box from trendy furniture label Castlery, indicating she’d recently gone on a spending spree.
In the comments of one of Tammy’s recent posts, there were stories of weeds in gutters (’embarrassing our street!’) and a house that ‘always looks dirty’ (‘she does not care for it!’)
While the gutters looked fine to me, another neighbour complained about the stained fence
They did look rather unsightly, drenched and visible from the street. But, in Tammy’s defence, the rain had fallen suddenly and hers wasn’t the only house on the street with packages left out in the elements.
Having surveyed the property from the street, it was clear there were really only two minor blemishes on the otherwise flawless façade of Tammy’s home: some rusty outdoor light fittings and a slightly stained front fence.
Tammy is no saint – her TikToks make my eyes roll and her taste in men can be infuriating – but it was clear to me that she is a responsible homeowner.
The devious smear campaign from unknown online assailants to smear Tammy as the black sheep of an otherwise respectable upper-middle class street was clearly unfair.
So, I tried to get to the bottom of the rumours by door-knocking every home within spitting distance and asking a) what they thought of Tammy, and b) who was behind the nasty rumours.
It was bleak. Most people were either not in or refused to answer their Ring cameras to a rain-soaked stranger.
But just as I was about to write the whole thing off as an online hoax, the rain ceased, the sun broke through, and a neighbour zipped into the cul-de-sac in her snazzy SUV.
I collared her in her driveway and put to her the burning question: who was behind this smear campaign about Tammy Hembrow’s gutters?
She said it wasn’t her but described the gossip as ‘malicious’.
‘Tammy has a gardener in there once a fortnight,’ said the woman, who asked not to be identified.
‘I don’t know why anyone would say the gardens are trashed, because she has people come in to maintain it. So I think that’s just people being malicious.’
Neighbours say they haven’t seen Tammy bring Bailey back to her family home – despite them being spotted at various Gold Coast hotspots, including the Rick Shores restaurant
She looked to be updating her bedroom, with a delivery coming from mattress company Emma
The influencer appeared to have gone on a spending spree, with boxes piled outside her door
The mum of three’s front step is piled with the family’s shoes and skateboards
But, with that said, the neighbour admitted she wouldn’t be popping over to Tammy’s to borrow milk anytime soon.
She made it clear the mother of three was the most unpopular woman in the street.
‘[Tammy] is a very unfriendly girl,’ she grumbled.
‘I don’t have anything to do with her. We’re all very respectful here, we wave to each other, we give each other a hand with our bins.’
Indeed, while we were chatting, the lady next door – who had minutes earlier refused to answer when I rang her doorbell – phoned her to check she wasn’t being harassed by the waterlogged weirdo traipsing around the block (that would be me).
‘She’s alright, I’m fine. I’m talking to her now… It’s okay, darling. Thank you for checking,’ she said.
With the welfare check over, I asked about Tammy’s weeds – or lack thereof.
‘Look, her house is a bit tired on the outside,’ she conceded, pointing at the stained walls. ‘A bit of maintenance would be good.
‘But apart from that she’s alright, she keeps to herself. I’d say [the online allegations] are just people being nasty. I don’t need to be nasty to her… I just don’t think she knows how to cope with all that wealth… it must be hard.’
Yes, life must be rough with an estimated net worth of $38million, a Bentley in the carport, an AFL star boyfriend, and a pool overlooking the Gold Coast waterways.
Curious about the neighbour’s assessment of Tammy as unfriendly, I sought out another local who offered a similar account. Yes, she said, Tammy does keep to herself, doesn’t say hello, and doesn’t wave when she’s zipping out in her Bentley.
Still, this neighbour denied spreading gossip about Tammy’s yardwork or the condition of her house, and said she had no idea who would say such things.
Nor did she care.
Tammy was seen heading out for an afternoon workout on August 24
She showcased her toned legs in a pair of short shorts while stepping out of her car
Interestingly, the neighbours I spoke to said they hadn’t seen Tammy’s latest squeeze Bailey Smith hanging around her house – despite them being spied kissing and holding hands at several local hotspots. Things are apparently so serious that Tammy is rumoured to be his date at next month’s Brownlow Medal.
My investigation had reached an end. No, Tammy isn’t a neighbourhood slob, dragging down house prices. Her only sins are having a bit of rust on the front fence, a rain-soaked delivery on the porch and not smiling enough. I booked a flight home.
I checked my phone at the airport. The nasty comments about her gutters and unkempt home are still there. The faceless, nameless accounts behind the smears offer no indication as to who is really behind them.
I suppose you don’t get 17 million Instagram followers without making a few enemies along the way.
Tammy did not respond to a request for comment.
