Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most-trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news
Pip’s ex factor
Right at the end of last year came the news Pip Edwards had coupled up with the ex-husband of one of her close friends, personal trainer Leah Simmons.
The P.E Nation founder had tried to keep a lid on her new romance with interior designer Josh Clapp but, Pip being Pip, it soon became the talk of the eastern suburbs.
By the time our photographer snapped them canoodling on the beach in Sydney, the one question on everybody’s lips was, ‘What does Leah make of all this?’
When we first caught up with her outside her workout studio, she simply laughed and said ‘no comment’. But now, a few weeks later, we know how she really feels.
Right at the end of last year came the news Pip Edwards had coupled up with interior designer Josh Clapp, who is the ex-husband of one of her close friends, personal trainer Leah Simmons
Was she incandescent with rage over Pip breaking the ‘girl code’? Was she burning her ex-husband’s remaining possessions in the driveway?
Er, not exactly.
Those hoping for scandal will be sorely disappointed, because I am reliably informed Leah has been telling friends she is ‘totally fine’ with Pip dating her ex.
For some women, watching the man they’d once hoped to spend their life with caught in Pip’s trance would be painful to watch – but Leah seems to be taking it in her stride.
Which is lucky, given she and Josh co-parent a teenage son, Ryder, and still maintain close ties, with Josh having designed and built the fitness studio she now runs.
Indeed, Leah’s Instagram feed includes family snaps of the exes spending quality time with Ryder, as well as her younger daughter from a subsequent relationship.
As for Leah’s friendship with Pip… that’s another story, with insiders telling me they are no longer as close as they used to be.
Before her cosy trip to Camp Cove with Josh, Pip seemed to be on a roll with boyfriends.
I am told Pip’s former best mate Leah Simmons (pictured right, with a friend) is ‘totally fine’ with the P.E Nation founder romancing her ex-husband
In fact, just prior to returning to Sydney, she had been in the U.S. with millionaire businessman and Grill’d co-founder Geoff Bainbridge, but it’s believed their romance was just a short-lived fling.
A gym to cry for
Want to get shredded alongside A-listers, reality TV stars and some of Sydney’s most influential gym buffs?
Eastern suburbs fitness fanatics apparently do, as desperate would-be members of Bondi’s exclusive new Beachouse gym overlooking the famous strip of sand are doing everything short of offering a kidney to be accepted.
Rumour has it gaining a membership at the application-only gym and high-society hangout has become so sought after that grown men have been brought to tears upon approval.
Located in the second level of the Pacific building on Campbell Parade, the luxury wellness hub requires referrals and deep dives through your social media.
This breezy wellness mecca in Bondi is home to an ocean-facing, dog-friendly gym that every celebrity and influencer in Sydney’s east is desperate to become a member of
There’s a dreamy bath house underground, too
Rejection means more than having to slum it at a gym chain or bootcamp – it’s a damning indictment of your social status, or lack thereof, even if you can afford the hefty monthly fees.
Notable members include Hugh Jackman (when he’s in town), Real Housewives of Sydney star Caroline Gaultier, The Bachelor alum Jimmy Nicholson and a throng of influencers.
The luxe new wellness space is part gym, part spa, part social club, and top-tier memberships include packages with luxury sauna Slow House, located beneath the fitness centre.
Quay West hotel in Melbourne’s South Bank is where the Australian cricket team stayed during the Boxing Day Test
The bathhouse offers magnesium pools, a traditional Finnish sauna, a soothing steam room – and it wouldn’t be Bondi without ice baths.
But they aren’t half as cold as a rejection letter from the membership department.
And finally… guess who, don’t sue
The bails are off for one of the golden couples of top-tier Australian cricket.
During the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, one of our national players and his wife slept in separate suites at the Quay West Hotel in South Bank.
‘It’s an open secret they’re headed for divorce,’ a WAG told The Group Chat.
‘We all knew they stayed in different suites during the Test.’
According to the insider, the couple is quickly (and quietly) mediating a divorce settlement given the player’s significant stake in a business with soaring stocks.
We’ll leave it up to you to work out who the player is. But it’ll be news soon enough. And remember, you heard it here first!
