They were more like sisters than best friends, insiders say.
So the almighty falling-out between socialites Victoria Montano and Martine Chippendale has sent shockwaves through Sydney’s elite eastern suburbs.
The two women, who live on the same street in ritzy Darling Point, used to be inseparable but sources tell me they are no longer speaking.
So intense is their rift, both women are now pulling out of events at the last minute to avoid bumping into each other, leading to all manner of mysterious, Drake-inspired ‘scheduling conflicts’.
Against the backdrop of their feud is the fact they are both appearing on The Real Housewives of Sydney.
While bitter rivalries are par for the course on the Foxtel series, we hear this one was entirely unplanned and, rather than delighting producers, actually caused headaches.
The almighty falling-out between socialites Victoria Montano (left) and Martine Chippendale (right) has sent shockwaves through Sydney’s elite eastern suburbs
In another twist to their bust-up, we can reveal it was only months ago that Victoria was pulling strings and calling in favours to get Martine a spot on the reality show.
The feud apparently began when Victoria discovered Martine had been gossiping about her to the other Real Housewives stars.
While there’s no way of confirming exactly what went down in this case of she-said-she-said, here is what we know so far…
Victoria introduced Martine to her society friends as an up-and-coming ‘It’ girl and this endorsement, plus some well-placed media contacts, secured her spot on RHOS.
Martine, who is married to retired banker John Wilson, then joined Victoria, Caroline Gaultier, Nicole Gazal O’Neil, Krissy Marsh, Terry Biviano, Sally Obermeder and Dr Kate Adams on the show.
We had a preview of the new season and Martine, a self-styled ‘life-size Barbie’, certainly makes her mark with her eccentric behaviour.
But about the time they began filming for the third episode, Victoria, who is the owner of fashion label Sport Luxe, was left ‘fuming’ after being told Martine had been bitching about her to the other housewives.
The women supposedly fell out by the third episode and even had separate viewing parties for the new season
We can reveal there was no resolution to the spat and the pair held separate viewing parties for the new season.
Victoria celebrated the premiere with co-stars Caroline, Nicole and Krissy, while Martine threw a separate party with two friends.
Late last year, chaos erupted on the set of RHOS as season three wrapped production on an explosive note.
As revealed by Daily Mail Australia at the time, Caroline stole the show for all the wrong reasons during filming of the reunion episode.
Insiders claimed the outspoken housewife had thrown a stiletto heel at a producer during a particularly heated exchange.
Sources close to production alleged the dramatic incident had unfolded during a behind-the-scenes interview segment, where cast members are instructed to share their unfiltered thoughts.
The feud supposedly began when Victoria (pictured) discovered Martine had been gossiping about her to the other RHOS stars
Caroline reportedly lost her temper after being cornered with probing questions she ‘couldn’t answer’ and found herself ‘backed into a corner’.
‘She did not handle that reunion well, not at all,’ an insider revealed.
‘The producers were asking her hard-hitting questions and she was visibly rattled. She felt like she was being backed into a corner and instead of owning up to things she just snapped.
‘Next thing you know, she kicked off one of her heels and hurled it at the producer.’
Mail+ subscribers will recall keen equestrian Victoria caught the eye of our society scribe Lucy Manly in December when she arrived to her 18-year-old godson Aston Looker‘s funeral wearing supposedly ‘disrespectful’ attire.
‘She was in jodhpurs and [riding] boots – she came straight from horse riding,’ a source revealed to The Group Chat at the time.
‘You’d think she’d have the decency to put a frock on for the occasion, not wear her equestrian gear.’
When contacted for comment, the mother of two could not recall what she wore to the funeral, which was held on September 6 at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill.
Mail+ subscribers will recall Victoria caught the eye of society scribe Lucy Manly in December when she arrived to her 18-year-old godson’s funeral wearing supposedly ‘disrespectful’ attire
‘I don’t know if that’s the case,’ she said.
‘I got a call from his mother last week saying she didn’t want me speaking to any journalists [about Aston]. Sorry, I can’t help you, darling.’
According to Sydney’s society crowd, Aston’s mother, designer Amanda Lennon, fell out with Victoria over the outfit faux pas – but the glamorous horse rider was quick to hose down the rumour.
‘I’m not sure who has told you this. Amanda and I have been friends since I was 28 years old. We spoke four days ago,’ she responded at the time.
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