EXCLUSIVE
Fashion designer Wayne Cooper’s New Year will begin just as the last one ended: with more court appearances over restraining orders and accusations that he assaulted his wife.
Cooper, who gained fame in the 1990s with his BRAVE label, was repeatedly in and out of the dock in the days leading up to Christmas, as well as spending twice behind bars.
The 61-year-old has been in front of magistrates so many times since early December that a fresh allegation that he assaulted his wife Elizabeth Adams had not previously been reported.
He now faces two charges of common assault and one of contravening a detained violence order, as well as being named on separate AVOs sought by police to protect him and his wife.
He is also not allowed to come within 200 kilometers of the estranged couple’s $5 million mansion in Myocum, 13 kilometers inland from Byron Bay on the New South Wales north coast.
Cooper married Adams in December last year, having met the mother-of-two just nine months earlier, but their union has been troubled for much of that time.
Police first sought an AVO to protect Cooper from Adams in Byron Bay Local Court in early August.
Magistrate Kathy Crittenden upheld that order for two years on August 19, restraining Adams from assaulting, intimidating, threatening, harassing or stalking her husband.
Fashion designer Wayne Cooper’s New Year will begin as the last ended: with more court appearances over dueling restraining orders and accusations that he assaulted his wife. Cooper is pictured outside court in 2008.
Weeks later, Adams, 47, revealed to Daily Mail Australia that the shadow of Cooper’s ex-wife Sarah Marsh was hanging over their marriage, sparking a crisis that landed her in court.
“As Princess Diana said, ‘There are three of us in this marriage,’ so it’s getting a little crowded,” the former UBS banker said.
‘But despite the uncertainties, my commitment to Wayne is unwavering. Our love for each other is contagious and we are more committed than ever.’
At the same time, Cooper told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Everything is fine. It’s a storm in a teacup. We’re together and we’re happy and that’s all.’
Marsh responded by saying he was not in contact with Cooper and had nothing to do with his new wife.
“I haven’t even met her,” the former model said. —Except for seeing her once in court. As for him, I haven’t spoken to Wayne in over two years.
Days after those comments, in mid-September, Byron Bay police applied for an AVO to protect Adams from Cooper. That matter was dismissed on October 28.
All was quiet for the next five weeks.
Cooper has spent so much time in front of magistrates since early December that a new allegation that he assaulted his wife Elizabeth Adams had not previously been reported. The couple appears in the photo on their wedding day.
Cooper married Adams in December last year, having met the mother-of-two just nine months earlier. Mrs. Adams is pictured on her wedding day.
Then, on December 8, Adams went to police alleging Cooper had assaulted her during an argument involving a bottle of wine at an apartment complex in Campbell Parade, Bondi.
That resulted in Cooper being charged with common assault the following day when he also received another interim AVO.
Cooper did not appear at Waverley Local Court on December 12 on the assault charge, but pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned for hearing on May 19.
Magistrate Miranda Moody heard Cooper was not present because he had returned to the Myocum home he shared with Adams.
A week later, Cooper was arrested again and appeared in court on December 21 charged with contravening an AVO and another charge of common assault related to domestic violence.
Those matters were adjourned until January 20 after he was granted bail at Parramatta Local Court.
On the same day, Cooper was given permission to recover property from where Adams lived, if he was in the company of police.
He was not allowed to enter Myocum but had to report to Byron Bay police station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Cooper faces two counts of common assault and one of contravening an apprehended violence order. He appears in the photo with his wife.
Adams was the subject of a two-year restraining order in August preventing her from assaulting, intimidating, threatening, harassing or stalking her husband. The couple appears in the photo.
Cooper was then arrested on December 27 in Myocum and spent another night in the cells.
The following day he appeared at Parramatta Local Court via audio-visual link charged with breaching bail, but was released once again.
Cooper’s new bail conditions allowed him to pick up a vehicle in Byron Bay and then not travel within 200 kilometers of the city except to attend court.
He was ordered to live at an address within the City of Sydney local government area and report to Kings Cross police station three times a week.
An application to vary or revoke the AVO protecting Cooper from Adams is listed for Byron Bay Local Court on January 6. He will face the same court for the latest assault charge on January 20.
Cooper proposed to Adams by hiding an engagement ring in a plate of caviar during a romantic dinner at Bondi Icebergs.
The couple had been dating for just eight months after the breakup of Cooper’s tumultuous 25-year relationship with Marsh.
Cooper and Marsh sold their Tamarama home for $11 million in February 2022, after purchasing the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home for $5.5 million in 2011.
Adams told Daily Mail Australia in September that the shadow of Cooper’s ex-wife Sarah Marsh was hanging over their marriage, sparking a crisis that landed her in court. Cooper is pictured with Marsh.
Cooper was arrested on December 27 at the multimillion-dollar mansion (above) he shared until recently with Adams in Myocum, near Byron Bay on the New South Wales north coast.
The following month they paid $5.09 million for the Myocum property, a five-bedroom, six-bathroom property with a tennis court, resort-style pool and landscaped gardens.
Cooper was arrested at the Myocum home in May 2022 and charged with two counts of domestic violence-related common assault against Marsh.
The charges come just 12 months after Cooper furiously denied that he and Marsh had ended their marriage.
Cooper, who has two children with Marsh, told Daily Mail Australia at the time that the story that the couple had split was “completely made up”.
The assault charges, stemming from alleged incidents in Tamarama in December 2015 and May 2016, were dismissed by a magistrate in August last year.
An AVO application to protect Marsh from Cooper was also dismissed.
Cooper was given a two-year good behavior bond in December 2008 after pleading guilty to assaulting Marsh just days after he underwent cancer surgery.
The assault occurred when Marsh attempted to demonstrate to Cooper how she alleged he had pushed her while she was on holiday in Port Douglas in far north Queensland.
Charges of assault causing bodily harm and harassment and intimidation arising from the same events were dropped by Waverley Local Court.
Born in Britain, Cooper grew up in London’s East End and moved to Australia in 1985, where he studied fashion design at East Sydney Technical College.
He founded the labels BRAVE, WAYNE COOPER and WAYNE. Her clothes were once sold in two boutiques in Melbourne and are now available in department store Myer.
Cooper’s shows at Australian Fashion Week have featured models such as Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigova and Sarah O’Hare (now Murdoch) and he was a regular guest on the reality television series Australia’s Next Top Model.