Beauty industry pioneer Shelley Sullivan seemed emotional as her mother comforted her on Monday following her abrupt separation from husband Anthony.
MCoBeauty Founder Ms. Sullivan and Her Husband of Seven Years Separate ways two weeks ago after an explosive argument.
The bitter fight led Sullivan to leave the country and head to the United States, while his wife moved into the five-star InterContinental hotel in Double Bay.
Shelley was seen in Sydney’s financial district being comforted by her mother.
The couple abruptly separated two weeks ago, with both the beauty mogul and her accountant husband moving out of their marital home in Bellevue Hill.
On Monday, the devastated mother-of-two was seen being comforted by her mother Kerrie in Sydney’s financial district, where her multi-million dollar business is based.
The couple looked visibly distraught as they shared a tender moment amid their marriage breakup.
Sullivan told Daily Mail Australia he would not comment on their breakup.
“Shelley is absolutely devastated by the split,” a close friend told Daily Mail Australia.
“Anthony was her rock, she is devastated; her marriage was everything to her.”
The businesswoman’s close-knit group of friends are doing everything they can to support her as she deals with the split.
“She has an incredible network that just embraced her right now.”
The couple looked visibly distraught as they shared a tender mother-daughter moment amid their marital breakdown.
The couple were seen having a serious conversation before hugging each other.
Shelley Sullivan and her husband Anthony are pictured on their wedding day seven years ago.
Mr. Sullivan is an accountant and CEO of Quantaco, which provides financial services to companies in the hospitality sector.
The couple had known each other for years and were friends before they began dating and then married in a lavish Point Piper ceremony in 2016.
The couple have since moved out of their $11,000-a-week heritage-listed Leura rental mansion in Bellevue Hill.
Sullivan made her mark in the 1990s with her modeling and talent agency before launching her thriving ‘masstige’ beauty brand ModelCo in 2016.
Masstige is a retail term that refers to a product that is marketed as “prestige” or premium but is actually mass-produced and affordable.
The beauty boss launched her brand’s Tan Airbrush In a Can more than 20 years ago and still sells a bottle every 36 seconds worldwide.
He is also credited with introducing the world to the first heated eyelash curlers.
ModelCo has overtaken legacy beauty brands such as L’Oréal, Maybelline and Rimmel in the Australian market.
The likes of Kendall Jenner, Hailey Baldwin, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Elyse Knowles have repped the internationally famous line.
In 2022, a large Australian conglomerate approached MCoBeauty and acquired a portion of the business.
The brand is on track to generate $247 million in fiscal 2024.
The couple lived in the heritage-listed Leura mansion in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Ms Sullivan now calls celebrity hotspot Intercontinental Double Bay home
The couple abruptly separated two weeks ago, with both the beauty mogul and her accountant husband moving out of their marital home in Bellevue Hill.
Despite problems at home, Sullivan remains focused on her work, her friend said.
“As her business goes from strength to strength, she is throwing herself into her work,” the friend told Daily Mail Australia.
‘In true Shelley style, he hasn’t missed a beat. ‘
It is unknown if a third party was involved in the breakup.
Sullivan recently feuded with former close friend and eyebrow artist Kristin Fisher, who was conspicuously absent from the beauty mogul’s 50th birthday soirée last July.
Sullivan had vouched for Fisher’s character after she was caught with cocaine at her feet inside a teenage drug dealer’s car in 2021.
The 50-year-old provided a character reference during Ms Fisher’s subsequent court hearing, saying she would support her friend regardless of the conviction.
A close friend of Mr Sullivan told Daily Mail Australia they hoped the couple would reconcile.
“Shelley is such a generous and kind person, this couldn’t happen to a nicer girl and I hope they work things out.”
