She may be a cosmetics queen with millions in the bank, but Shelley Sullivan proved last week that even the most privileged among us need to let it all out sometimes.
The 51-year-old MCoBeauty entrepreneur – who this year sold her business to retail billionaire Dennis Bastas in a rumoured deal worth $500million – looked upset and frustrated as she vented to a male friend at Coogee hotspot Mimi’s on Saturday.
The pair and the rest of their dining party – including P.E Nation co-founder and Ksubi creative director Pip Edwards, Daimon Downey of dance group Sneaky Sound System, and his wife Georgia Gorman – were filmed gathering in a smoking area, where Shelley seemingly had a lot to get off her chest.
It’s possible she was discussing the end of her marriage to businessman Anthony Sullivan – founder and chief executive of hospitality advisory group Quantaco – who became the talk of Sydney’s east in August when he paid a staggering $41million in cash for a waterfront home in Kirribilli following their split.
It’s unclear if that money was his own or the proceeds of a settlement with his extremely wealthy estranged wife. The progress of their divorce hasn’t been made public so any financial agreement may still be pending.
In our exclusive photos and video, Shelley can be seen pointing during a tense conversation with her friend, who later offered her a consoling hug.
Multimillionaire MCoBeauty founder Shelley Sullivan joined several eastern suburbs identities for a gathering at celebrity hotspot Mimi’s in Coogee on SaturdayÂ
She looked frustrated as she vented to a male friend during a smoko outside the restaurant
Shelley – who has had a year of dizzying highs and crushing lows, punctuated by a marriage breakdown and selling her business for a fortune – looked like she had a lot to get off her chestÂ
Edwards, whose fondness for a dart is no secret, was seen puffing away on a cigarette nearby before she stepped away to snap photos with the other socialites.
Later, as the group left the ritzy venue, Pip was spotted holding hands with interiors stylist Steve Cordony, who recently split from his husband Michael Booth.
As well as being the talk of the east, Shelley’s ex’s eye-watering property purchase was also record-breaking, eclipsing the previous suburb record held by Next Capital’s John White, who paid $19.1million for a nearby waterfront property in 2022.
Mr Sullivan’s new mansion sits on 765 sqm and features manicured gardens and an outdoor swimming pool.
The $41million deal was made off-market, with the previous owners being Michael and Louise Tang, long-time locals and supermarket operators in Papua New Guinea.
Despite their multimillionaire status, Shelley and Anthony had previously rented rather than owned before their split – albeit in some of Sydney’s most enviable postcodes.
In 2018, they lived next to Sydney’s oldest lighthouse on the Vaucluse clifftops.
‘We’ve been here for 18 months. It’s heritage-listed, so we’re not allowed to do much,’ Shelley told the Sydney Morning Herald at the time.Â
Shelley showed off her trim figure for the lunch in a floral pink silk dress and gold heels
The pair were also joined by Pip Edwards, who was seen puffing away on a cigarette
Shelley looked lively as she spoke to Edwards and her stylishly dressed male friendÂ
Pip was spotted holding hands with Steve Cordony following his recent split from his husband Michael Booth
Shelley was seen having a tense conversation at the front of the venue
The group embraced each other after the lunch
The sighting comes after Shelley’s ex-husband Anthony Sullivan recently purchased a newly built waterfront home in Sydney’s Kirribilli for a staggering $41millionÂ
‘I don’t have a lot of room for shoes – I gave up cupboard space for the grounds! But living here is a great experience – it’s such a unique property.’
The pair later upgraded to Leura, a heritage-listed Bellevue Hill mansion commanding $11,000 a week in rent.
Daily Mail understands the then-couple was planning to buy a home in the eastern suburbs – and had a budget of $100million – before their marriage breakdown last year.
Shelley and Anthony parted ways in May 2024 after an explosive argument.
The heated row prompted Anthony to leave for the U.S., while his wife moved into the InterContinental in Double Bay.
The high-society split, which came just seven years after the couple’s opulent Point Piper wedding, shocked their well-heeled social circle in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
In the aftermath of the break-up, prominent Double Bay cosmetician Kristin Fisher came forward to deny ‘unequivocally false’ allegations she was linked to the separation, and it is not suggested otherwise.
It’s understood the once-close friendship between Shelley and Ms Fisher has nonetheless cooled recently.
The two women were both guests at the Silver Party fundraiser for the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation in May.
Even though they were surrounded by mutual friends, including tracksuit mogul Edwards and interior designer Blainey North, there was apparently no interaction, not even a polite air kiss, between the former pals.
Prior to meeting the beauty boss, Anthony, a country boy from Cootamundra, led a modest life with his former wife and two young children in suburban Sydney.
The family lived in a three-bedroom home in Bilgola Plateau, 35 km north of Sydney, which was sold in February last year for $2.3million.
The glamorous group made a beeline for a waiting SUV after their catch-up at Mimi’s
MCoBeauty was launched by Shelley in 2020 and quickly gained fame for producing affordable ‘dupes’ of popular cosmetic and skincare products.
The company’s rapid production cycle – bringing products to supermarkets and chemists within eight weeks – helped fuel a meteoric rise in sales.
Earlier this year, billionaire pharmaceutical magnate Dennis Bastas acquired MCoBeauty in a deal valuing the company at $1billion, after acquiring an initial 50 per cent stake in 2022.
The brand’s extraordinary growth – with revenue soaring by 2400 per cent over four years – has been attributed in part to the cost-of-living pressures driving demand for affordable beauty alternatives.
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