They say Australia is the lucky country, and for a former British backpacker truer words have never been spoken.
Pictured leaving his Sydney beachside home shirtless last week, Lee Henderson looks like your typical cash-in-hand Eastern Suburbs DILF. But dig beneath the surface of his charming life and you’ll find a man who truly defines the Australian dream.
Lee is a photographer. But you probably know him best as the ex-husband of Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, the highest-paid woman in radio. They separated in October 2018 after 15 years of marriage and finalized their divorce in 2021. They share a daughter, Kitty, 13.
To say Lee hit the jackpot when he wooed a young Jackie in a Sydney pub more than two decades ago would be an understatement.
She was still years away from reaching the peak of her television success, and fresh from the breakup of her first marriage to jock ‘Ugly Phil’ O’Neil, Jackie didn’t seem to mind that Lee was an English tourist without much going for him. .
It was March 2000 when their eyes met on the Blue Room dance floor.
Lee went down to the beach for a shirtless stroll on the sand and a quick dip.
Lee was traveling through Australia in 2000 when he first laid eyes on the budding radio presenter, who had just divorced her first husband, the ugly Phil O’Neil.
Jackie, then 25 years old and dating a girlfriend, would later reflect in her diary that Lee, who was a year younger than her, took his time coming – “about an hour” – but to be “slow” It was enigmatic in a way.
The fact that the “prim and proper” Brit reminded her “of a handsome Hugh Grant” didn’t hurt either.
Before leaving, he asked her for her number, which she dialed into her Nokia. He called a few days later. Jackie wrote in her diary at the time, and would tell it on air years later, that she was unsure of him at first, but immediately felt a physical attraction.
‘Lee is really sexy, but I don’t know if we’re together. “I don’t know if I see it or not,” he wrote.
It turns out that they would have a future together. It wouldn’t last a lifetime, but they would reach the age of 20 and become parents to a daughter, conceived through IVF in 2010.
In the years that followed, Jackie would team up with another important man in her life, her on-air partner Kyle Sandilands, and together they would become Sydney’s most popular breakfast radio team. In 2019, they signed the most lucrative deal in Australian media history. They signed another jaw-dropping contract, worth $200 million, at the end of 2023.
Lee played the role of calm, devoted husband as his wife’s professional life skyrocketed, and also supported her during the controversies that marked her career.
When, In 2018, Jackie announced on air that she and Lee were separating, but few saw it coming.
Lee has truly moved on from his failed marriage and continues his romance with tattooed jujitsu instructor Gabriella Motta. Photographed in 2021
They are believed to be living together, according to sources, and even maintain their enviable beach bodies at the same gym where Gabriella is a trainer.
‘After 18 years together, we have made the decision to separate. “We do it amicably, we share many incredible memories and we remain best friends,” he said.
“Our focus for this next chapter is, of course, our wonderful daughter and continuing to bring her love and happiness together.”
At the time, the couple said they were still “best friends” and would continue to raise their daughter Kitty amicably.
While things often go downhill for men after divorce, Lee’s life today couldn’t be better..
The mild-mannered Englishman raked in millions after his divorce. It was money that Jackie was happy to part with, given the fact that he earned so much more than Lee and the fact that his daughter, Kitty, would be staying with him half the time.
Today, Lee seems to be living a dream life. Physically he has never looked better. As our latest shirtless photos reveal, he has an athletic and toned physique. He has also partnered with a spectacular Brazilian woman he met at the gym..
He used to look pretty dimwitted compared to his famous wife when they were photographed together at events, but now Lee is the embodiment of the ‘Peter Pan’ of the eastern suburbs: a man in his 40s who seems to defy the aging process.
In 2018, the couple released an explosive statement announcing their separation after 15 years of marriage. They promised to remain ‘best friends’ and be parents to their daughter Kitty.
Lee’s physique has never looked better, as seen in recent shirtless photos. The photographer is the picture of “healthy living” when he left his home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last month.
As for his new relationship, Lee hasn’t said much, but we do know that he is dating Gabriella Motta, a tattooed jujitsu instructor with whom he shares a passion for martial arts..
They were first seen together in 2019, a year after he split from Jackie.. They are believed to live together in Sydney’s east and, sources say, Lee continues to work out at the same gym where Gabriella is a trainer.
The low-profile relationship marks a significant change for Lee, whose marriage to Jackie was not only high-profile but apparently strained behind the scenes for years.
In her recently released memoir, The Whole Truth, Jackie admitted that it was clear their relationship was going on the wrong path for years before they broke up.
She struggled for years with weight fluctuation, and the comments her health-conscious husband made about her size in “vulnerable” moments have stuck with her to this day.
“I remember changing in the locker room, I was there naked and vulnerable, and Lee walked by and I caught him looking at me in the mirror with an expression of disdain or disgust. I’ll never forget that look. Sometimes he would put his arm around me and grab a wheel of spare. “Look at that!” I would say jokingly, but I wondered if it really was.
It got to the point where Lee suggested she undergo a full body scan “because he thought I was obese.”
“I went and bought one…and I wasn’t obese,” she continued. —But he was overweight. I was probably just eating my feelings and my palate wasn’t picky.
During their marriage, Jackie accumulated significant wealth through her career in radio and television. Years after splitting from Lee, she admitted on air that it was no secret that she would not receive money from her ex in the settlement because she was the richer of the two.
‘I had to share my wealth. And he said, ‘Yes, I accept it!'” she said in 2021. But she was quick to add that there was no hard feelings because he was the father of her daughter..
“I have to say, when you have kids, it’s totally different,” he said.
Jackie reportedly received $10 million out of pocket in the divorce, and Lee was transferred the $6.7 million marital home. But compared to his net worth, it was a drop in the bucket.
A source told New Idea in 2018: ‘Jac is and always has been the breadwinner…so there’s no doubt that Lee will have a tough time without her.
“When she became pregnant with Kitty, the plan was always to go back to work and earn money and Lee would stay home and take care of Kitty, even though they could have easily afforded a nanny.”
Years after their marriage ended, Jackie admitted on air that it was no secret that she would not receive money from Lee in the settlement because she is the richer of the two.
The former couple owned a luxury home in Vaucluse, which they bought in 2012. Jackie moved out shortly after her divorce and allowed her ex to stay with her.
“It’s definitely easier for everyone for him to keep (the house) and Kitty will be more settled this way,” a source said at the time.
“You have the money to easily buy a new place and that’s no problem.”
Fast forward to 2024, and Jackie, who has a 10-year, $200 million radio contract, certainly has the money to shop wherever she wants..