Justin Hemmes and his girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel appeared in good spirits as they arrived back in Sydney on Sunday after a family weekend away.
The Merivale billionaire, 52, and his girlfriend, 27, looked as loved-up as ever as they left the private jet terminal following their luxury holiday.
The couple were seen doting over Justin’s daughters Alexa, six, and Saachi, five, who he shares with his model ex Kate Fowler.
For the outing, Justin cut a laidback figure in a light blue T-shirt as he sweetly cradled his daughter in his arms, proving himself to be every inch the doting father.
Meanwhile, Madeline kept it casual in an oversized white T-shirt and shorts, while she toted her essentials in a small brown handbag.
Madeline – the younger sister of Aussie model Simone Holtznagel – showed off her natural beauty as she went make-up free for her travels and flashed a huge smile.
It is not known where the family jetted off to for their intimate weekend away, but they travelled in style on Justin’s private jet.
Justin and Madeline quietly began seeing each other in 2019, a year after his debut on the Financial Review Rich List with an estimated net worth of $951million – which has since risen to $1.39billion.
Justin Hemmes and his girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel appeared in good spirits as they arrived back in Sydney on Sunday after a family weekend away
Madeline kept it casual in an oversized white T-shirt and shorts, while she toted her essentials in a small brown handbag. She showed off her natural beauty as she went make-up free
Their latest trip comes after Justin broke his silence after bombshell allegations emerged about The Ivy in Sydney, which is part of his hospitality empire.
The exclusive nightclub, frequented by high rollers, faces claims of sex assault, harassment and grooming along with copious drug use enabled by CCTV ‘blind spots’.
Amid the reports, Justin emailed 5,000 of his employees to say he is ‘devastated’ at allegations, according to the The Sydney Morning Herald.
In the email to staffers, he vowed to take the ‘allegations against Merivale concerning our staff and our culture’ seriously.
‘Please be assured that we are taking this matter very seriously and do not condone, encourage or tolerate any of the behaviours which have been alleged,’ he said.
‘We will continue to work to address every allegation made within today’s article.’
He went on: ‘Utmost in my mind is my concern for all of you, and especially for the distress caused by the aspersions that have been cast on those who work and have worked in the past, at Merivale and within the hospitality industry in general.
For the outing, Justin cut a laidback figure in a light blue T-shirt as he sweetly cradled his daughter in his arms, proving himself to be every inch the doting father
‘I am overwhelmingly sad that today’s article broadly denigrates everything that we do.’
Level 6, located in the Sydney CBD as part of the Ivy-branded cluster of venues owned by the Merivale group, was ‘one step short of being a brothel’, an unnamed manager told Nine newspapers.
Staff at the ritzy venue, where membership costs $10,000 a year, detailed allegations of sexual assault and being pressured into pleasing the largely wealthy male clientele.
In return, glamorous young women, mostly aged between 18 and 21, employed as ‘hosts’ would allegedly take home Gucci handbags and up to $600 in tips for a couple of nights’ work.
An unnamed staff member told Nine newspapers workers were ‘expressly told’ they could not refuse a guest who wanted to buy them a drink.
Another said when senior Merivale staff were in the venue drunk and or high, staff would be ‘pressured’ into drinking with them, and it was ‘very difficult’ to say no.
In a separate incident, a senior staff member allegedly forced himself on to a host so hard it winded her.
Justin and Madeline (pictured in December 2022) quietly began seeing each other in 2019, a year after his debut on the Financial Review Rich List with an estimated net worth of $951m
It was also claimed a VIP guest pushed a staff member into the bathroom to use cocaine and ripped open her top.
When she raised the reported incident with management, she was allegedly told: ‘Don’t beat yourself up about it. It happened, now just move on.’
James Henderson – who was a bartender at Ivy and another Merivale company Bar Totti’s, but resigned in August – said what allegedly happened in the venues was ‘disgusting’.
Merivale told Nine newspapers it took the allegations extremely seriously but had no record of them.
It added that it has appointed leading human rights and discrimination lawyer Kate Eastman, SC to lead an investigation into allegations of misconduct at the company.
‘If any of these allegations are even remotely true, we sincerely regret any distress caused,’ Merivale said.
It comes after Justin broke his silence after bombshell allegations emerged about The Ivy (pictured) in Sydney, which is part of his hospitality empire
However, company rejected claims it had fostered a culture that exploited women and put its staff in danger.
‘In all hospitality businesses, including Merivale’s, incidents occur involving both patrons and staff. There is no denying this,’ a spokesperson said.
‘However, Merivale handles complaints that are made about such incidents in accordance with its policies and procedures as well as its legal obligations.’
Merivale operates more than 70 hospitality venues across New South Wales and Victoria.
