EXCLUSIVE
The heartbroken wife of celebrity chef Opel Khan has dramatically walked back comments about the state of their marriage and admitted the couple are divorcing.
Khan, who ran a string of high-class restaurants in Sydney until he suddenly closed his empire late last year, insisted over the weekend that his marriage was fine.
His wife Julie even appeared in a FaceTime interview with Daily Mail Australia to deny ‘gossip’ that the couple had split up and hadn’t spoken in a year.
But on Monday, Mrs Khan dramatically admitted: “We are not together and we are getting a divorce.”
Last week, Khan vehemently denied that the couple had split “some time ago” and claimed that a mystery woman contacted his wife claiming to be his secret lover.
“A woman contacted my wife saying she was my lover,” he told Daily Mail Australia while angrily denying the allegations.
‘I was at a dinner with five or six women and they sent a photo to my wife suggesting things.
Julie Khan confirmed the end of her marriage to chef Opel Khan
Chef, author and TV personality Opel Khan (pictured) closed his restaurants, saying rising food costs made it impossible to run the businesses for profit.
‘Now people are making up all kinds of rumors that there is a baby on the way. None of this is true.’
He added: “The people of the Bangladeshi community are against me.”
But on Monday, Khan insisted on setting the record straight about her relationship with the celebrity chef.
And she admitted that a mysterious informant told her details of the accusations against her ex-husband.
“I was contacted by someone I didn’t know, although it wasn’t a woman,” he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday. “As far as I know, no woman has contacted me.”
Despite joining her ex-husband for a video call to Daily Mail Australia to tell him they were still together, she insists they have split for good.
“We’re not together,” he said.
The split follows the mass closure of Khan’s French-themed restaurant Metisse and pasta restaurant Acqua E Farina in Potts Point, as well as his Bistronomie restaurant in Surry Hills.
He confirmed the closures last year, insisting rising wages and rising food costs meant there was “no more money to be made” in Sydney’s hospitality industry.
Daily Mail Australia revealed that a series of debt collectors have been trying to track him down at previous addresses listed in the company’s files.
The Fair Work Ombudsman also launched legal action against Khan and his company over allegations of wage theft affecting some of his restaurant staff.
The cook was also not paid personal leave entitlements and received no pay in lieu of notice or annual leave entitlements when his job was made redundant.
The estranged couple married 28 years ago.
Opel Khan says difficult trading conditions have forced Opel Khan to close a number of locations, including its latest affordable restaurant, Bistronomie.
A beverage supervisor also lost his paid annual leave entitlements, the Ombudsman alleged, and the company failed to calculate and pay workers.
Khan strongly denied the claims and said he returned the money to both workers and provided receipts for the bank transfers. The matter is currently still before the court.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal it is also being pursued for other alleged outstanding debts.
A current tenant of a former residential rental property where Khan and his family once lived has revealed how alleged unpaid bills have filled his mailbox since he moved out.
He said debt collectors have continually turned up at his door looking for Khan for the past 10 months after he moved into Beecroft’s home in northern Sydney.
“A lot of different people and companies have come looking for him, about half a dozen since February,” the tenant said.
“A lot of different people from different companies want to know where it is.”