Roxy’s Clones: From Gossip to Feuds and Overshadowing

For someone whose fondness for headlines earned her the nickname ‘The Publicity-Seeking Missile’, it’s unsurprising PR supremo Roxy Jacenko liked to choose staff who style and appearance perfectly matched her upmarket personal brand.

During her years as Sydney’s most in-demand lifestyle, fashion and beauty publicist, Roxy famously hired an army of ‘clones’ to work at her Paddington-based firm Sweaty Betty PR.

All young, attractive and (mostly) blonde, her LBD-clad proteges were a source of fascination during Roxy’s peak years as a tabloid fixture in the mid- to late-2010s.

She was rarely pictured without her gaggle of lookalikes, several of whom have graduate from her employment to become swans of high society, such as Montarna McDonald and Bernadette Fahey.

DailyMail+ spoke to PR industry insiders to find out what happened to Roxy’s clones after the company closed its doors in late 2022 and its founder moved to Singapore. Some had fallings-out with the boss, while others remained close friends – and some even managed to surpass their former mentor. 

From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail’s new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.  

Irene Manyk 

Irene Manyk flew up the ladder at Sweaty Betty, starting out as a personal assistant for the PR maven in 2011 after a mutual friend recommended her for the job.

Just eight weeks later, at age 21, Irene proved herself so competent at her job that Roxy quickly promoted her to a junior account manager role at her firm.

‘I watched every little thing the boss did, every move she made, and I listened to all of the discussions in the office,’ Irene, now 34, told Mediaweek in 2019.

Irene acted as the junior account manager for more than two years before she moved into another role and took a career break to have a baby.

Upon her return, she slotted straight into a senior account manager position at Sweaty Betty, and friendship with Roxy remained strong. 

All up, Irene stayed with Sweaty Better PR for about a decade, and was even behind its popular Instagram page which has been closed since the company shut its doors.

No longer working for Roxy, the former publicist co-founded Base Hair Extensions with fellow entrepreneur Stephanie Romano in 2021.

But while Irene and Roxy may no longer be professionally linked, the pair appear to still be friends and follow each other on Instagram. 

‘Roxy and I have known each other for a very long time,’ Irene said of Roxy in 2019.

‘She wants me to succeed, she wants to see me shine, and she supports me to do so.’

Grace Garrick 

Grace Garrick, 30, caught the attention of society scribes in 2018 when she was pictured working as a nanny for Roxy’s children Pixie and Hunter, now aged 13 and 10 respectively, during a family holiday in London – despite officially being employed as a publicist at Sweaty Betty PR.

Roxy erupted at the suggestion someone on her company payroll was handling domestic duties, telling Daily Mail Australia at the time: ‘Grace isn’t my nanny; she is travelling with a big group of us.’

But photos Grace posted on Instagram didn’t show much publicity work taking place. Instead they showed her holding Pixie’s hand as they walked down a street and going to a spa with the kids – with Roxy and husband Oliver Curtis seemingly elsewhere.

Whatever the arrangement, it looked like a fun gig for a woman in her mid-20s and flying first class to Europe via Singapore Airlines was undoubtedly a nice perk.

Grace still works in PR, following in her former mentor’s footsteps by founding her own successful company, MVMNT, in 2019. She is currently listed as its director.

It’s unclear whether she and Roxy are still close but it seems doubtful because the two do not follow each other on social media. 

Rachel Gilbert 

Eponymous fashion designer Rachel Gilbert was a bridesmaid for Roxy at her wedding to former investment banker Oliver Curtis, and would use Sweaty Betty PR for all her label’s publicity needs.

But rumours of a rift emerged in 2014 when Rachael, now 43, decided to take her business elsewhere.

She insisted at the time her friendship with Roxy hadn’t soured but she was taking her brand in another direction.

Whispers of a feud grew louder five years later when gossip columnist Lucy Manly reported Rachael was the latest client to join the roster at The Audience Agency, a rival luxury PR firm founded by Roxy’s former assistant Montarna Pitt.

Montarna, who still runs TAA, had managed Rachel’s account at Sweaty Betty back in the day, and they decided to work together again after reconnecting at the Hamilton Island race in 2018.

There was talk in the fashion circles at the time that Roxy was furious that Rachel had jumped ship to Montarna’s agency, but neither confirmed the rumours.

Nevertheless, Roxy and Rachel haven’t been seen together since 2014. 

Holly Brooke 

Holly Brooke was another ‘copycat’ staffer who worked for the PR queen back in 2016. But unlike the other Sweaty Betties on this list, she was employed by Roxy’s other company, the influencer agency Ministry of Talent.

She was memorably pictured trying to keep up with Roxy as she went on a shopping spree during a business trip to the Gold Coast. 

She stayed at Ministry of Talent for about two years, and was promoted during that time from a talent manager to ‘head of talent’.

An English expat, she returned to the UK in 2018 and landed a job at Gleam Futures.

Holly then jumped over to Skin Rocks by Caroline Hirons in 2020 where she spent almost five years as a commercial director.

Nowadays, Holly has ditched the blonde clone look from her Sydney years and is a redhead. She is also set to launch her own ‘industry-disrupting wellness brand’ later this year.

Holly Asser

Holly Asser was Roxy’s right-hand woman for years and was considered the ‘chief clone’ among her staff of doppelgängers.

A long-time friend of her boss, she spent almost five years as a senior account director and second-in-command from 2014 to 2018. 

She has since become a society figure in her own right, and was even a Vogue Bride last year when she married her fiancé Jake Kaiser in Queenstown.

Holly, 33, has worked her way up the PR ladder since leaving Sweaty Betty, working for Future Women, Edelman and Crown Resorts.

Today, she has one of the most ritzy jobs in her industry as head of public relations for Merivale, the hospitality group owned by billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes. 

Holly’s exit from Sweaty Betty was clouded by rumours her friendship with her employer had soured. Neither confirmed the speculation until 2020 when Holly hinted her resignation was not all sunshine and rainbows.

She spoke about her exit in an Instagram Q&A, confirming to her followers she and Roxy were no longer on speaking terms. 

When someone asked why she left Sweaty Betty, Holly offered a more in-depth response.

‘I think in your career you always need to keep learning and when you feel like you’ve learned all you can in a company or role, it’s probably time to move on,’ she wrote.

‘My departure was a little while coming and I think if you’re familiar with the company you might know why my friends and I decided to move on.’

Holly’s reference to her friends leaving the company at about the same time aligns with the departures of Grace Garrick and Gemma Oldfield.

Responding to Holly’s claims at the time, Roxy told Daily Mail Australia: ‘It has been three years since she was employed by me and she’s still not moved on. 

‘Must be missing me to still be talking about it! It blows my mind how childish a person can be. She wanted a reaction and knew if she used my name she would get it, which she did.’

Ouch. 

Gemma Oldfield 

Once-loyal staffer Gemma Oldfield had a very public blow-up with Roxy in 2018, which saw their emails and text messages leaked to the press.

The 29-year-old niece of One Nation co-founder David Oldfield and his reality TV star ex-wife Lisa, worked at Sweaty Betty for almost two years before she quit to found her own firm, Inpress PR.

She was another employee who doubled as a nanny for Roxy – this time in Hawaii while her husband Oliver was spending a year in jail in 2016 for insider trading. 

But their friendship later soured, with emails leaked to The Daily Telegraph in 2018 showing Roxy had incorrectly accused Gemma of fabricating mental health problems.

However, Gemma supplied a doctor’s letter to Roxy stating she had, in fact, been suffering from anxiety for ‘several months’. 

Roxy also accused Gemma, who was 22 at the time, of leaving work early to look after her cousins ‘while their parents appeared on a reality show’.

She was referencing Lisa and David’s stint on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

Gemma resigned from Sweaty Betty in late January 2018, with her final day due to be February 16. On February 20, a Sweaty Betty staffer emailed Gemma and asked her to repay slightly more than a day’s wages for not working her final shifts.

The firm also threatened to ‘commence legal action’ and said Gemma would have to pay ‘all legal fees incurred’.

There’s an old saying in HR… just let them go. 

Bernadette Fahey 

Bernadette Fahey worked as a publicist at Sweaty Betty PR from 2009 to 2013 — but has arguably since eclipsed Roxy’s status in high society.

After leaving the company, she moved to New York City where she worked at Elle Communications then PR Consulting for a total of 11 years, before moving back to Australia during Covid. 

Now 35, she is known as the ‘Pilates queen’ thanks to her buzzy North Bondi studio Body by Berner, which is popular among Sydney’s eastern suburb in-crowd.

She has become a fixture of society headlines since her star-studded wedding to ultra-wealthy Buildcorp COO Jordan Sukkar in November.

The couple walked down the aisle at Scots College in the upmarket suburb of Bellevue Hill, with a guest list including a Who’s Who of Sydney high society.

Attendees including Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic, celebrity account Anthony Bell and his new wife Annika Martyn, as well as Justin Hemmes and his his partner Madeline Holtznagel, ‘nude artist’ Dina Broadhurst and fashion model Montana Cox.

While they no longer work together, Roxy and Bernadette still follow each other on Instagram, with the businesswoman recently singing her praises of her former protégé.

‘I am so proud of Bern,’ Roxy, who now divides her time between Singapore and Sydney, told Daily Mail Australia earlier this week.

‘She was a publicist for me at Sweaty Betty in the early days, then left and moved to NYC where she continued in the space,’ she added.

‘Since coming back to Australia and seeing her develop her own business, it makes me so happy to see.

‘Funnily enough, I looked at an article yesterday to see her photographed picking up rubbish outside her studio and thought to myself, “She learned that from me.”

‘You’re never bigger than the business or more important – just get it done.’

Sara Huegill

Sara Huegill (née Hills), the ex-wife of world champion swimmer Geoff Huegill, has a widely reported on-again, off-again friendship with Roxy.

The 40-year-old made headlines when she was sacked from Sweaty Betty PR in 2010, with her employment being abruptly terminated for alleged ‘disloyal conduct’.

‘Sara Hills’ position was terminated by mutual agreement some weeks ago,’ Roxy said in a statement at the time.

‘It was, I must say, a shame as we did enjoy her company and she was a good publicist.’

However, an industry insider soon came forward to claim Sara had been sacked ‘immediately for disloyal conduct’.

‘Only herself and a few people know what really happened,’ they said.   

It was later revealed Sara had sent sporting compression wear and supplements to an ‘unknown identity’ in Rose Bay without permission from Roxy or the client, Body Science.

The two women rekindled their business relationship in 2017 when Sara was rehired as a senior publicist, before parting ways with the firm less than three months later. 

Sara proceeded to have a rough few years.

In May 2018, the socialite was accused of stealing a $2,500 pair of Bassike trousers from a Byron Bay boutique on Mother’s Day.

In August that year, the magistrate dropped the charge on mental health grounds.

In December 2018, Geoff and Sara, who are parents to daughters Gigi, 11, and Mila, nine, announced their separation.

Geoff wrote on Instagram: ‘It’s with a heavy heart that after 13 years together, Sara and I have made the decision to amicably separate.

‘We continue to remain friends as our focus will always be on providing a positive, loving and beautiful future for our girls.’

In 2019, Roxy defended Sara in an interview with Daily Mail Australia, addressing her history of drug use. 

‘We’ve all done the wrong thing, we’ve all taken cocaine in our time,’ Roxy said.

Her comment was in reference to an incident in 2014 when Sara and Geoff were arrested for cocaine possession. 

The couple later pleaded guilty and each received six-month good behaviour bonds.

‘Yeah, she did the wrong thing, but she owned it,’ the PR dynamo said, adding that she ‘partied a lot’ herself when her husband Oliver was in jail for insider trading.

‘I have a very soft spot for Sara. Obviously she has run into issues in her time, as we all have, but she was always a very good publicist,’ she concluded.

Montarna McDonald

Montarna McDonald is another Roxy underling who surpassed their mentor in the cut-throat world of high-end public relations.

Now considered the ‘It girl’ of Sydney’s ritzy eastern enclaves, Montarna started out as an intern at Sweaty Betty in the late 2000s.

She was later asked to join the team as showroom co-coordinator before progressing to become a publicist and in-house blogger for the company.

It’s unclear how many years Montarna, now 35, worked at the company, or why she left, but she and Roxy no longer follow each other on Instagram.

Years have passed since they were last seen together. The fact Montarna poached ex-Sweaty Betty client Rachel Gilbert in 2019 might have something to do with that. 

Now the boss of her own firm, The Audience Agency, which she founded in 2014, Montarna makes the kind of headlines her former boss used to a decade ago.

Maz Coote

Malyon ‘Maz’ Coote had one of the longest careers at Sweaty Betty, landing a job at the company in 2008 and working her way up the ranks until her departure in 2015.

She went from intern to general manager over the course of almost eight years, and was famously gifted a new Mercedes-Benz by Roxy as a reward for her hard work. 

Like many of Roxy’s erstwhile employees, Maz left to start her own communications agency called Coote Connex, now Coote Agency. 

She founded her own fertility testing clinic, WHEN Fertility, with her husband Brett Barnes in January last year.

Maz and Roxy appeared to maintain a working relationship after she left Sweaty Betty, and in 2016 she said she was ‘devastated’ to learn her old boss had breast cancer.

However, it seems their friendship may have soured since then, as Roxy implied in 2019 she considered Maz to be one of her ‘haters’. 

During a promotion for her ‘Roxy Tan’ product, the PR maven sent the self-tanning product to those she described as her naysayers.

Maz was included among the names, alongside her own father, Sydney Morning Herald gossip columnist Andrew Hornery and The Australian journalist Will Glasgow.

‘My biggest detractors are always my biggest motivators, so it was a bit of a f*** you. You don’t like me so much, so you can enjoy my tan,’ Roxy said at the time.