Meriton heir's $2K-a-night getaway with married socialite
Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia's most trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip before it makes the news.
Love is in the heir
Sophie Dalah, the glamorous eastern suburbs expat from Sydney's well-known Dalah clan, appears to have a new squeeze on her arm.
The Kambala old girl - actress, model, and founder of Los Angeles-based production and catering business Sophie's Table - has been spending increasing amounts of time with Meriton heir Ariel Triguboff Hendler, grandson of billionaire property tycoon Harry Triguboff, Australia's second-richest person.
Ariel, Meriton's director of asset management, is the son of Triguboff's daughter Sharon Hendler and clothing executive Gary Hendler.
The apparent new romance comes less than a year after Sophie tied the knot with musician Noah Gersh in a lavish August wedding. The rocker has been conspicuously absent from her social media of late and was recently posting updates from Italy while Sophie was across the pond.
Sophie and Ariel Ariel appeared to be enjoying a cosy getaway at One&Only Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana. (Pictured together on the getaway)
Sophie Dalah has been spending time with Meriton heir Ariel Triguboff Hendler, grandson of billionaire property tycoon Harry Triguboff, Australia's second-richest person
Noah has been conspicuously absent from Sophie's social media of late and was recently posting updates from Italy while Sophie was across the pond
A source close to the couple confirmed to Group Chat that they have split. Group Chat has contacted both parties for comment.
Meanwhile, Sophie and Ariel appeared to be enjoying a cosy getaway at One&Only Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana. Rooms at the ultra-luxury resort can fetch close to $2,000 AUD a night - although that's unlikely to trouble either of their bank accounts.
After all, Ariel purchased an unrenovated Watsons Bay home for $15.7 million in cash last year.
As for Sophie, she's hardly lacking pedigree herself. Her parents, Michael and Michelle Dalah, are among Sydney's most prominent property players and are regarded as some of Australia's largest private landowners, having amassed an extensive commercial and residential portfolio over several decades.
The Dalah family's social cachet extends well beyond property. Sophie's brother Jordan is an established fashion designer whose creations are regularly worn by supermodel Georgie Fowler, the wife of his twin brother Nathan, co-founder of Fishbowl.
However, the high-profile family has not been entirely immune from controversy. Sophie's eldest sibling, Elisha Dalah, made headlines last year when court proceedings revealed she was present during former television star Andrew O'Keefe's heroin overdose, administering Narcan and performing CPR before paramedics arrived.
She had previously been banned from Westfield Bondi Junction after a shoplifting incident.
Listing to living
Gavin Rubinstein is engaged to reality star Ruby Adler
He has snapped up the penthouse of The Dixon, which is being built in Tamarama
Read More
EXCLUSIVE Court twist for Kristin Fisher's late-night visitor... Plus, AVO drama rocks Nadia Fairfax's family
It seems Gavin Rubinstein couldn't resist snapping up the very property he'd tipped as the highlight of his latest Tamarama project, The Dixon.
'The penthouse will be the jewel in the crown and we've already got interest at around $20m for that,' the high-profile real estate agent said at the time.
Now, a source close to the development reveals Rubinstein has decided to keep the prized residence for himself - a move said to be ruffling feathers among some buyers.
The sprawling penthouse boasts 291sqm of internal living space plus a 135sqm terrace and features its own internal lift. Most of the top floor is devoted to outdoor entertaining, maximising the panoramic ocean views and cooling sea breezes.
Construction is set for completion this year, with Rubinstein now poised to enjoy the very crown jewel he once touted to others.
The property coup comes as Rubinstein celebrates a personal milestone: the celebrity agent recently proposed to British reality TV star Ruby Adler - of Made in Chelsea fame - with the couple confirming their engagement after just over a year together.
Booby Tape blunder
Yikes. Awkward doesn't even begin to cover it.
Australian influencer and model Leah Ramsey, known online as Leah Jay, has shared the heartbreaking news that she and husband Michael Ramsey have lost their infant daughter following a high-risk pregnancy that resulted in Leah undergoing open-heart surgery.
She announced the devastating loss in an emotional Instagram post, sharing a photograph of herself and Michael cradling their daughter, Rowe, while sitting side-by-side in a hospital bed.
'Our daughter. Rowe. The strongest little girl we will never get to know,' she wrote.
'You made it through infections and multiple surgeries, even when the odds were against you. But it just wasn't your time.
'We are absolutely devastated. Rest peacefully. Love always, Mum, Dad and your big brother Reeves.'
Friends, family and fellow influencers flooded the comments section with messages of love and support as the couple navigates the unimaginable loss.
However, one commenter appeared to have skipped the caption entirely.
Boob tape entrepreneur Bianca Roccisano made a mortifying misstep in the comment section.
Australian influencer and model Leah Ramsey, known online as Leah Jay, has lost her infant daughter following a high-risk pregnancy
Booby Tape entrepreneur Bianca Roccisano clearly failed to read the caption
The congratulatory message stood in stark contrast to the hundreds of condolences surrounding it, resulting in an awkward moment for the businesswoman
'Omg she's here!! Welcome baby Rowe, how lucky she is to be here,' Roccisano wrote.
'We love you so much.'
The congratulatory message stood in stark contrast to the hundreds of condolences surrounding it, resulting in an awkward moment for the businesswoman.
Leah simply responded: 'She didn't make it actually.'
The vicarious embarrassment is almost unbearable.
Among those offering their support to the grieving family were Melbourne socialite Rebecca Harding, condom heir Michael Porter and Tess Crosley, who was thrust into the spotlight last year following her affair with married AFL star Lachie Neale.
Fresh scrutiny for celeb dentist
The saga of Perth's fallen 'celebrity dentist' has taken yet another extraordinary turn, as hundreds of out-of-pocket patients edge closer to answers – and perhaps vindication – following the collapse of his dental empire.
I've previously written about the late Dr David Hurst, the high-flying cosmetic dentist whose sudden death at Crown Casino Perth in December 2024 exposed a financial mess that left patients, creditors and regulators scrambling for answers.
Now Australia's corporate watchdog has decided those answers warrant a closer investigation.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has approved funding for liquidator Jennifer Low to conduct a deep dive into the finances of Hurst Group Pty Ltd, the company behind Perth Dental Rooms.
And there is certainly plenty to investigate.
More than 150 former patients are among 223 unsecured creditors owed almost $4.4 million after discovering deposits they had paid upfront for expensive dental work had seemingly vanished.
The scandal became even more remarkable when it emerged Hurst had previously been convicted of fraud in the UK before later establishing himself as one of Perth's most prominent cosmetic dentists.
Liquidators are expected to closely examine the company's finances, including the period between Hurst's death and the business's collapse.
Early findings suggest the company's collapse may have been caused by the misuse of patient deposits and money withdrawn from the business that exceeded its profits.
Never mind the opulent lifestyle.
Dr Clara Hurst's late husband is alleged to have left 132 patients 'in limbo'
Company funds were also used to bankroll more than $209,000 worth of international travel in the final 18 months of Hurst's life, while the business borrowed more than $223,000 to purchase a Porsche Cayenne
A previous investigation uncovered more than $1.5 million transferred from company accounts into a mortgage offset account linked to the family shortly after Hurst purchased a $6.5 million Spanish mission-style Claremont mansion.
Company funds were also used to bankroll more than $209,000 worth of international travel in the final 18 months of Hurst's life, while the business borrowed more than $223,000 to purchase a Porsche Cayenne.
Not exactly the spending spree patients might have expected when handing over their life savings for dental implants.
Former clients claim they were encouraged to access their superannuation to fund treatment, only to be left with incomplete procedures, defective dental work and little hope of recovering their money when the practice imploded.
The fallout has been so significant that both the ATO and medical regulators have since tightened oversight of the controversial compassionate-release superannuation scheme.
Meanwhile, Slater and Gordon are preparing legal action on behalf of dozens of former patients still suffering and searching for answers.
No wrongdoing has been alleged against Clara Hurst in relation to transfers made by her late husband or otherwise.
But my West Australian spies tell me it's business as usual for the mother-of-two.
May you like
'Clara was at Gibney restaurant in Cottesloe the other night, not a care in the world it seems,' they said.
But with ASIC now funding a full-scale investigation, the questions surrounding one of the wild west's most spectacular corporate collapses are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
